Former Life
by Sailor Elf
Summary: When Torn is abducted and attacked, his friends try and find out who did it and why. What they find is something more unimaginable than any of them ever would have thought possible.
1. Unhappy Reunion

Disclaimer - None of the characters from the Jak series belong to me. Never have, never will. Tryce is mine.

Summary - When Torn is abducted and attacked, his friends try and find out who did it. What they find is something more unimaginable than any of them thought possible

Author's Note - There will be some OOC on the part of Torn. (And possibly some other characters, I don't know)

00000

Former Life

Torn walked out of the Naughty Ottsel and glanced up at the darkening sky. Drops of rain began to fall and he snickered as he walked away from the building. He found he stumbled slightly along the way and growled slightly.

"Things had better not get any worse," Torn muttered under his breath. "Everything else has gone wrong today."

His love life was ever gradually heading downhill and work was not getting any better. It seemed like no one was listening to him at all during the meetings he had been to that day. If not that, his ideas were totally shot down the drain. It also seemed to Torn that no one wanted to even talk to him since they were all busy. He had hoped that alcohol would make it better but it somehow made it worse. Somehow, it didn't seem to make to situation feel any better than what it was.

"I have to wonder about everything. I don't think everyone appreciates the things I do sometimes," Torn said as he walked down the streets.

He growled slightly when he noticed that the rain wasn't going to stop but began to turn into a downpour. He quickened his pace but found that he couldn't make it far without getting soaked to the bone. He stopped under an awning so he could dry himself some before continuing on. He sighed as he watched the rain ceaselessly fall.

"It really can't get any more worse than this. Or can it?" he wondered. "With everyone either not talking to me or hating my ideas, how can it?"

He didn't see two eyes watching him from above. Torn began to head out again once he saw the rain was letting up but he found himself being pulled back. He felt a hand cover his mouth, preventing him from yelling out. He struggled to get free or even get a small glimpse of his attacker.

"You can struggle all you want Torn, you'll never escape me," came an eerily familiar voice.

Torn's body tensed up at the sound of the voice and his eyes flashed an uncharacteristic feature: fear. Torn began to quiver slightly, not even noticing that his attacker pulled away.

"I always knew that you were weak, no matter how much you've changed," he told Torn.

He grabbed a nearby bat and swung at Torn's head. Torn fell to the ground in a heap.The elf stared at the motionless body before him and snickered.

"Torn, Torn, Torn. When will you ever learn?" he asked. "I have always been the superior one, despite all your talents."

00000

Torn groaned, grabbing his head in pain. He tried to remember what happened last and when he did, he began to growl as he managed to climb to his feet. He glanced around the bare room before coming to the door.

"Where the hell are you? Let me get my hands on you!" Torn cried out. "What do you want with me after all these years? What?"

Torn paced the room, arms crossed and angry. He continually glanced out the window in the door, trying to see if his captor was possibly outside.

It seemed like hours before someone finally walked up to the door. Torn looked up from where he was sitting, across the room. He stood up as the person walked into the room.

"Torn, it is so good to see you again," he told the ex-KG.

"Wish I could say the same to you Tryce," Torn sneered. "What do you want from me?"

"I wish to see you dead," came the reply.

Tryce hurried up to Torn and aimed a punch right for his head. Torn ducked but found the punches kept coming and one soon connected with his face, near his left eye.

"If you wanted me dead, why didn't you make sure of it years ago? I know you're capable of making sure of it," Torn demanded to know.

"This feeling has only been with me since the last time we saw each other. Before then, I had no reason.You're a traitor Torn. You have been since the day you walked out on me. Besides, I want to see you suffer more," Tryce told him.

"I told you that I didn't want to be part of it any longer. Live with it!" Torn yelled at him.

"You left me just like you left the Krimzon Guard. You left me to rot in that place!" Tryce yelled back at him.

"And you deserved to rot!" Torn replied.

Tryce snarled as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs, causing Torn to back up to the wall. Tryce snickered as he walked up to him, moving faster than what Torn anticipated.

"Thank you for helping me. You're making this way too easy for me," he said.

He immediately put one of the rings around Torn's wrist before placing a hand on a brick behind Torn. He pulled it out, revealing an iron hook and clasped the other ring onto it. Torn pulled at the handcuffs before watching the elf, who was smiling at Torn. Tryce reached to his back and pulled out a dagger, plunging it through Torn's free wrist and into the wall. He cried out in pain.

"Now you will know the punishment for leaving," Tryce told him.

He walked over to the door, opening it slightly to reach for something. He pulled a bat into the room and Torn struggled within his bounds but found it was making his wrists hurt even more.

"No! Don't do this!" Torn yelled out. "Help!"

"No one can hear you Torn. We're outside the city walls. You can scream all you want but it won't do any good. No one's around," he was told.

Torn felt the bat connect with his body several times, starting with his knees and ankles. He tried to stay conscious but he found it was slowing leaving him. He wanted to fall to his knees but the dagger and handcuffs were preventing him from doing so. Tryce smirked as he gave Torn's body a long look. Torn watched him from his partially open eyes.

"One more present before I take you back to city for your friends to find. They can celebrate your funeral," Tryce said.

He pulled the dagger out that was holding Torn's wrist up, putting all the pressure on his other wrist. Tryce stared at the blood on the blade before turning his gaze to Torn, who was weakly trying to free his other hand.

"What is this? Oh my, this is blood. Torn's blood. I never thought that the great Torn could actually bleed. The great Underground soldier and ex-Krimzon Guard is finally going to learn his mistake from his greatest fear. Me," Tryce said.

He plunged the dagger into Torn's abdomen, causing him to yell out before heading towards the door.

00000

A few guards walked down the streets, talking and laughing with each other about various different subjects. They all glanced at the sun making its way over the horizon.

"Who would've thought that? I certainly didn't," said one.

"I think Torn was expecting it though you can never tell with him. He's the toughest guy I know. He rarely shows any emotions so you can never tell what he's thinking," another said.

"Speaking of Torn, shouldn't we see if there's any new orders?" the third asked.

"I've been trying for the past several hours. I haven't been getting an answer so I don't know where he is. It's not like him," the first replied.

The second guard had turned his head towards a dead-end alley and narrowed his eyes as he thought he saw something, or someone,on the ground.

"Wait a minute you guys. I see something over there," he said.

They watched him head into the alley and they soon followed. The three soon saw that someone was lying prone on the ground. They hurried over to the elf to find a pool of blood sitting underneath the figure. They could tell that it was a male in the semi-darkness.

"Is that who I think it is?" the third guard asked.

A flashlight was turned on and they saw that it was indeed who they thought it was: Torn.

"We have a man down near the Slums. We have found Torn. He's greatly injured and he needs medical attention. I repeat, we have a man down," the first of the three said into his communicator.

"Can you hear me Torn?" the second guard asked the elf.

When they got no answer, they became worried.

"You don't think he's dead, do you?" the third wondered.

"Don't think so. It looks like he's still breathing but barely," the second replied. "Don't know if we should move him or not."

"Better not until the medical personnel get here," the third replied.

They didn't see the figure watching them from the shadows, growling. He silently walked away from the scene.

"So they found him after all. One way or another, I will find out where they take him. I hope he's beginning toget the message from this. He will pay for what he's done," the figure said.

TBC...


	2. Finding Out

Jak walked into the Naughty Ottsel, glancing from side to side. Daxter was at the bar, cleaning the counter and Tess was heading into the back.

"Hey Jak! Where you have you been? I didn't see you last night so I wasn't sure where you were," Daxter wondered.

"Been busy, like you I imagine. Have you seen Torn lately? I need to ask him something and I haven't seen him since last night," Jak replied.

"Sorry, haven't heard from him or seen him in hours. He came in here early last night, had a few drinks then left. He didn't say where he was going," Daxter replied. "Don't worry about Torn. He can take care of himself."

Jak gave a small laugh at the statement. He knew very well that Torn was more than capable of taking care of himself, though he never thought that the older elf would ever get into a situation like that.

"Well, if you see him, tell him I was looking for him," Jak told his friend.

Daxter nodded as he watched Jak head out the door. As Jak reached to push it open, his communicator gave a small beeping noise. He subsequently answered it.

"This had better be good," Jak said.

_"What a way to answer,"_ came a familiar voice.

"Sorry Samos, what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Jak wondered.

_"Get to Freedom HQ. We all have an important mission to undertake,"_ Samos told him. _"And bring Daxter and Tess with you. They'll want to know what's going on."_

Jak glanced over at Daxter, who had heard the whole thing. The ottsel nodded his head before scurrying over to his friend ond climbing onto his shoulder. They called to Tess, who soon followed suit. Jak hurried outside to where his zoomer was parked nearby. He jumped onto it and hurried off.

00000

"How could this have happened?" wondered Ashelin.

"I don't know but it did anyway. We have to find out who did it before someone else gets hurt," Samos replied.

Onin was sitting on the floor and she moved her hands, sparks flowing from her fingers. Pecker watched her as Keira walked up to him.

"What does she say?" she asked him.

"She says that we have to be very careful for whoever did this knows what they're doing. They have experience beyond our understanding," Pecker replied. "She wishes to say that - what is that? You are a crazy woman! Why shouldn't I do a thing like that?"

"What is it?" wondered Ashelin.

"What did she say? Does it have something to with Torn's attacker?" Keira asked.

Onin waved her hands, causing Pecker to screech before hiding in Onin's hat. He was obviously scared as he peeked out at them. He shook his head, indicating that he would not answer.

"It would be best if waited until we had more answers. Maybe wait and see what Torn tells us when he wakes up. We can ask him questions about what happened," Samos replied.

They heard a door open and they turned to see Jak walk into the room, Tess and Daxter on his shoulders.

"What's going on here that you dragged us all the way here? I was busy," Daxter complained.

He jumped off Jak's shoulder and onto the table nearby. He stared at the solemn stares on everyone's faces and his ears immediately fell back.

"What happened? Did we lose a war or something without us knowing?" he asked.

"It's Torn. He was attacked yesterday sometime after he left here. We're trying to figure out where he went after here, who saw him last. He was found early this morning by a few guards out on patrol," Ashelin explained. "We're trying to figure out who did it but so far, we have nothing."

"Torn was attacked? How? He isn't the type to let himself be a target for an attack. If he ever was confronted, he was more than capable to take of whoever it was. Hell, he was Krimzon Guard!" Jak wondered.

"Can't be the same Torn. Torn doesn't let himself be intimidated, he does the intimidating," Daxter protested. "I know I never got along with him, I still hate to see the Tattoed Wonder get hurt for no reason."

"I went to the hospital myself and checked it out. It is Torn for certain," Ashelin replied. "He's suffered a head injury so it's uncertain when he'll wake up to tell us exactly what happened."

Jak glanced around at everyone in the room.

"So where do we start?" he finally asked.

"Maybe we can start by going to where the guards found him this morning. Maybe we can find a clue there," suggested Samos.

"I'm on it," Jak immediately said.

Jak began to head out the door and Ashelin soon followed him. She caught up with him outside and he didn't even bother stopping when she hurried up to his side.

"Jak!" Ashelin called out to him. "Do you even know where to go?"

Jak stopped in his tracks and turned around, realizing that simple fact. He crossed his arms as he stared at her with an angry look.

"Fine then. Where do we go?" Jak asked.

00000

Jak knelt down to inspect the pool of blood that still lay on the ground. Well, what was left of it anyway. The rain had washed most of it away. Ashelin stood beside him, wanting to tell him what her theory was.

"There could be many reasons why he was attacked but I think it was someone who was angry with him for leaving the Krimzon Guard," she told him.

"But you're not certain. Anyone could have any reason to want Torn dead but Daxter said that Torn was at his bar last night. He could have easily gotten drunk and then into a fight," Jak replied. "It's strange that the blood seems to be only in this one spot. If someone attacked him somewhere else and brought him here, one would think there's be a trail but I suppose it's all been washed away."

"I noticed that too and it's impossible that whoever it was did it here. He probably would've had at least a few witnesses here. Now that I'm thinking about it, someone probably should've seen Torn's attacker," Ashelin agreed. "I'll go ask around. See if anyone around here saw anything last night."

Jak nodded his head as he watched her leave. He stared at the remains of the blood, trying to think of any ideas to where it might have taken place and why. It was then that he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It looked like someone standing in the shadows. Jak turned his head to find that nothing or no one was there. He narrowed his eyes before heading in that direction. He kept watching and waiting for someone to jump him.

_'What did I see? I must be seeing things now,' _Jak thought.

He walked into the end of the street only to fully recognize where he was. He was standing in the area where the former Underground Headquarters used to be.

"I wonder if whoever did this knew about the place? It can't be a coincidence," Jak asked.

He went into defensive mode. He prepared himself for anything, wondering if the figure was going to attack him next.

00000

Samos paced in front of Onin, not sure what to think. Keira had gone back to work while the ottsels headed back to the bar, leaving Samos alone with the mystical woman.

"Are you sure its them?" Samos asked.

Pecker dejecedly nodded. He sighed.

"Onin says it is them. It fits their pattern. She remembers everything like it was yesterday," Pecker replied. "They may have stopped before but it doesn't mean they disappeared completely. She knows they didn't."

"I'm starting to remember it again myself. Everyone was relieved when it finally stopped. Why did they start up again? Why? And what does Torn have to do with it?" wondered Samos.

00000

Several tense moments went by and when no one else was there. Jak sighed and turned around only to find someone blocking his path. He was wearing a black hood which covered most of his face and a black cape flowed down his back.

"Who are you?" demanded Jak.

"Where is he? Lead me to him now! I know you're his _friend_. He needs to understand and so do you!" the figure told him.

"What are you talking about?" Jak asked.

"You know who I'm talking about. Now take me to him!" the figure replied.

He darted to one side. Jak tried to stop him but the man was too quick. He grabbed Jak around his neck and began to choke him.

"If you will not tell me where he is, then you will share the same fate as he will," the figure told him.

Jak could feel the anger welling up inside him. He could sense his dark personality trying to emerge. He growled as his eyes flashed a dark colour. Claws emerged from his fingers. The figure gasped as he let go of Jak. He turned towards the dead-end and disappeared.

"Jak, are you there?" came Ashelin's voice.

He didn't answer as he waited to take control again. Ashelin hurried over to him as he changed back to normal. She had a hand on her gun as Jak coughed a few times.

"What happened?" Ashelin asked.

"Someone came out of nowhere and attacked me. I think he wanted me to lead him to Torn," Jak quietly explained.

Ashelin glanced in the direction the man went in. She wondered where he went to so fast.

"Whoever he is, he's definitely persistant," Ashelin said. "We better get back out of here before something else happens."

Two eyes watched them leave the alley before quietly following them along the rooftops.

TBC...


	3. Another Confrontation

Dusk fell and Samos walked into the hospital room and sighed once he saw Torn lying in the bed. He never thought he'd see the leader of the Freedom Guard like this.

"Now why would they be after you Torn?" Samos wondered.

The sage walked over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to it. Glancing at the bandages covering Torn's hand and head, Samos began to think about what Onin told him earlier.

_'Why is this the first one after so many years? I thought they all disappeared but Onin says they hadn't. How many of them are left then?'_ Samos thought to himself.

A voice broke him out of his trance. He glanced towards the bed to see Torn's head slowly moving from side to side.

"No, stop this, please. Why do you want to go back?" he muttered. "Why?"

Samos walked up to the bed, wondering if Torn was going to be saying anything else when Jak and Ashelin walked into the room. The sage glanced over at them as they walked up to him.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" asked Ashelin.

"No, nothing happened," Samos replied. "Did either of you find anything?"

"Not really but it certainly was quite interesting," Jak said.

Samos was curious to why Jak said that. He waited for the young man to continue.

"Someone attacked me when we went back to where Torn was found. He wanted me to tell him where Torn was or else suffer the same fate," Jak replied.

Samos was a bit surprised with this as he glanced back at Torn. Ashelin walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm.

"Well, whoever he is, is going to pay. No one attacks one of the city's best men and gets away with it," she said to them.

"Though you have to find him first," Samos reminded her.

"Anything we can do at the moment?" Jak wondered.

"I don't think there's too much more tonight that we can do but I think you should stay here, Jak," Ashelin replied.

Jak was a bit surprised by this. Samos remained quiet, allowing Ashelin to finish what she started to say.

"We need someone here to protect Torn from whoever attacked him. We don't know if this guy knows where Torn is or when he's going to try to attack him again. I'm going to head back to HQ to see if I can find anything out from there. See if Torn has any known enemies within the former Krimzon Guard," Ashelin explained.

Jak nodded before walking over to the chair next to the bed. Inwardly, he hoped the night would go uneventful but at the same time, he hoped something would happen to pass the night. Ashelin and Samos walked out the door. Jak watched them leave and sighed.

00000

Jak gave a small yawn, lifting a hand up to his mouth. He glanced over at the clock to see that it was nearly one in the morning. Jak looked over at the bed before standing up. He walked over to it and sighed as he looked at Torn.

_'Never thought I'd see him like this. So this is what Torn looks like when he's not giving out missions left and right,' _Jak thought to himself.

Jak glanced around the area to see if anyone was around. When he didn't see anyone or anything suspicious, he decided to go get something to drink.

"Jak," came a quiet voice.

Jak stopped by the doorway, heaing his name before he had walked out. He turned around to see Torn looking in his direction. When Jak headed back to the bed, he saw that Torn was staring at him through barely opened eyelids.

"Torn, you're awake!" Jak almost cried out.

Torn gave a few small coughs as he turned his head away from Jak, who placed a hand on Torn's arm. He watched Torn, wondering if he would say anything else.

"Torn, you're going to have to help us here to find out who attacked you. Torn?" Jak told him.

"He's too dangerous. He's not going to stop, Jak. He's not going to stop," was all Torn said before completely closing his eyes again.

"Torn, don't fall back asleep just yet!" Jak quietly yelled at him.

Jak pulled away from the bed and sighed before starting out the door again.

_'Probably won't wake up for a few more hours. Better get that drink while I have the chance,'_ he thought to himself.

Jak headed down the hall, slightly wondering what Torn meant by what he said. He grabbed a glass and took some water from the large bottle nearby.

"This guy's not going to stop what? Stop attacking people? Torn obviously knows who attacked him," Jak said to himself.

He lifted the glass up to his mouth but he froze when it reached his lips. Something felt wrong to him. He glanced from side to side, down each hallway, before taking the glass awayfrom his face. He hurried back to the room to see someone standing over Torn. His back was facing the door and Jak saw that he was holding something in his hand. Something that shined in the moonlight.

"Stop!" Jak cried out.

He ran towards the figure, who turned his head enough to see Jak heading towards him. He quickly sheathed the dagger and reacted to Jak by spinning around grabbing Jak by the throat, pinning him against the wall. Jak noticed that the figure kept his head lowered, despite the hood over his head.

"You will never find me for I cannot be found. You will not defeat me for I cannot be defeated. My reflexes are faster. My skills are vast and they have been fine tuned over the years," the figure told him. "I have to thank you for leading me to him. It would have taken me much longer to find him if you had not for I have a few more things to discuss with Torn. I didn't expect anyone to find him so soon."

_'Oh great, that's comforting,' _Jak thought. "Then why didn't you make sure he was dead before you dumped him out into the street to be found?"

"Because that's not how we work," came the reply.

Jak was a bit surprised with the statement and the next thing he knew, the figure stepped away from him. Jak saw a flash of orange as he stepped away. The cloaked figure stopped before the window, glancing around. He found Daxter standing before him on the floor.

"Daxter!" Jak cried.

"No one hurts my friends and lives to tell about it. You'd better tell us why Tattooed Wonder is fighting for his life or else I'll sic Jak on ya," Daxter angrily told him.

"'Tattooed Wonder?' I missed that one. Thank you for telling me that piece of information so I can possibly use it against him," the man smirked.

He ran for the window and jumped out. Jak and Daxter carefully walked over and peered outside to see that no one was in sight.

"Whoever this guy is, he's good. He got in while I was gone for a moment. It's like he's a shadow or something like that, disappearing and appearing whenever he feels like it," Jak mused. "And I'm surprised that you're worried about Torn."

"Don't get used to it. Me and him still don't get along that well but I still like the guy enough that I wouldn't like to see him get hurt," Daxter replied.

Jak smiled as he sat back down next to the bed. Daxter climbed onto his shoulder, crossing his arms. He gave a small snort.

"Hopefully, I can last until morning with all that's going on," Daxter muttered.

00000

Samos walked into the hospital room to find Jak still sitting in the chair, yet he was asleep. Daxter had moved from his shoulder to the foot of the bed. The sage walked up to Jak and placed a hand on his shoulder. Jak woke up with a start and saw Samos standing next to him.

"Sorry about falling asleep," Jak apologized.

"Don't worry my boy. I wasn't expecting you to stay awake all night," Samos replied.

"Torn awoke last night for a few moments," Jak said.

Samos was a bit surprised by this as he turned towards the bed. He glanced back towards Jak, hoping he would tell him what Torn had said.

"Did he say anything?" Samos wondered.

"All he said was that he was dangerous and not going to stop," Jak told him. "Not only that, the guy who first did this to him followed me here. I left the room just for a moment and when I came back, he was here."

He watched Samos, who appeared deep in thought when they heard a groan from the bed. Daxter woke up and jumped from the bed once Torn had kicked his feet. The former Krimzon Guard bolted up in the bed, placing a hand on his stomach and a cringe crossed his face. He frantically glanced around the room as if looking out for someone.

"Torn, what's wrong?" Jak asked.

Torn didn't answer him, the look of pain was clear on his face. Jak and Samos both saw the look of fear in his face as well.

"Where is he?" Torn demanded.

Samos and Jak glanced at each other in slight confusion before Jak walked up to the bed. Daxter jumped onto his friend's shoulder.

"Torn?" Daxter cautiously said.

The ottsel became slightly scared for he had never seen Torn express pain before or even fear.

"You three shouldn't have come here. He's not going to stop. I have to get out of here now!" Torn replied, trying to climb out of the bed.

TBC...


	4. No Access

Ashelin stared at the computer screen. She was hoping to find something within the files to lead her to Torn's attacker. She remembered her father saying that once someone became a Krimzon Guard, vital information was logged into a file that only the leader of Haven City could access.

"Maybe I should check Torn's old file. See if I can find anything in there that would make anyone envious of him," Ashelin said.

When she punched in his name, she was surprised to find the file came up classified.

"What's this all about? Classified? This is odd. What could possibly be so secret about Torn that it has the highest level of security possible? I have access to all the other Krimzon Guard files but I wonder if there are any others that I don't have access to?" Ashelin wondered.

She punched in a few more keys before one other file came up as classified.

"Only these two are classified? What makes Torn and this one so special that they have their files classified from even me?" she wondered. "I doubt I'd be able to get into them. It looks like they're triple encrypted. I wonder if my father knew about these two? And if he did, why didn't he tell me about them? Particularly if it concerned Torn."

She walked out of the room, deciding to head back to tell the others the bad news.

00000

Torn glanced from side to side as Jak walked up to his side.

"Torn, you're in no condition to go anywhere," Jak told him.

"You don't realize why I have to leave Jak! No matter where I go, he will find me and make sure I'm dead. If I stay here, he'll find me easier so I have to keep moving," Torn replied.

"Then why did this guy leave you alive this time? Why didn't he just kill you when he had the chance? Tell us!" Jak wondered.

Torn's stare turned towards the window. He narrowed his eyes as he continued to look at it. Samos walked up to the bed, wondering what was going through his mind.

"He came here last night. He knows where I am," Torn stated rather than asked.

Jak and Samos glanced at each other, wondering how Torn knew that his attacker had found him. The sage's stare turned towards the window as well.

"You're in no condition to go anywhere. You're staying here, no matter what. I will make sure that someone stays here with you in the room to make sure that you don't have to worry about him or leave yourself," Samos told him.

"But - " started Torn.

"No buts about this Torn. You have to heal. You are no good to us if you're dead or unable to talk," Samos replied.

Samos walked out of the room, motioning for Jak to follow him, which he did. Once they were out of the room and earshot of Torn, the sage stopped.

"Did he say anything else? Any indication to his idenity?" Samos wondered.

"Who? The one who came in last night? Nothing to say who he was but he did say something strange though," Jak replied.

"And what was that?" Samos said.

"I asked him why he didn't kill Torn right away, before dumping him in the alley. His reply was that it wasn't the way they did it. He switched from talking about himself to saying 'we'. It was if he were talking about a group of people like him," Jak explained.

Samos placed a hand on his chin, wondering about this information. Jak carefully watched him.

"Samos? Is something wrong?" Jak cautiously said.

Samos was broken out of his concentration before shaking his head.

"No Jak, everything is fine," Samos replied.

The sage walked away from the room. Jak crossed his arms as Daxter jumped onto his shoulder.

"What's wrong with him? I've never seen Samos like this before. Whoever this guy is that attacked Torn, he's got everything and everyone upside-down," the ottsel said.

"You got that right," agreed Jak, crossing his arms.

00000

Torn sat impatiently in the bed, arms crossed. He was still upset with what happened and was anxious to get out of the hospital when he heard a tap on the window. He looked to see Pecker fly into the room.

"What do you want?" Torn demanded. "Whatever Onin has to say, I don't want to hear it."

"I think you do want to hear it Torn. Onin fears for your life. She says that now is your moment of truth, that you have a decision to make Torn and you know it," Pecker told him.

"She doesn't think I know that already?" Torn questioned him.

"Believe me, she knows that you know but she was very adament in telling you that she wants to see you as soon as you are better. She would like to discuss this situation further with you," Pecker told him.

"I can be at her tent tonight if need be. I've moved with wounds that were just as serious before," Torn angrily said.

"You know that she knows that or have you forgotten how the two of you met? I remember that day quite clearly for I was there," Pecker told him with slight anger in his voice.

Torn growled for he hadn't forgotten either. He motioned for Pecker to get closer, who reluctantly did so. Torn grabbed Pecker by the throat, surprising the parrot.

"Tell her I will be there within the next few days. Not when my legs get better," Torn quietly told him.

Pecker managed to nod his head before Torn let him go. Torn snarled as he watched him fly out of the room.

_'He's the only one who can strike fear into my heart and nobody can help me with it but I will go talk to Onin and see what she has to say about all this. After all, she's kept the secret this long. She given me no reason not to trust her,'_ Torn thought to herself.

He glanced over at his belongings on a nearby chair and saw his dagger. He sighed before looking away from it, as many thoughts ran through his mind.

00000

Ashelin walked into the hospital, glancing from side to side. She found her way up to Torn's room to find Jak standing outside the room.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"This guy who attacked Torn came to the hospital last night," Jak replied.

"Things are getting just better and better," Ashelin muttered.

"What's wrong Ashelin? Did you find anything that might help us in finding out who this guy is?" wondered Jak.

"No, I haven't and I can't," Ashelin replied.

Jak remained quiet, waiting for her to continue with her findings.

"When someone becomes a Krimzon Guard, a file is created about that person. Any important information is put into these files," began Ashelin.

"Since Torn knows who this person is, it just might say who it is," Jak said.

"It just might but that's the problem. I don't have access to his file. Normally, the leader of Haven City has access to all of the files, to know who's working for them and who used to but there's two that are classified even to me. One of them is Torn and right now, I'm guessing the other one belongs to our recent _friend _that we made," Ashelin replied. "There are quite a few that left the Guard after my father died so it could be any one of them.I don't know what's so important about these two that no one can know anything about them. I know I'd like to ask Torn about it."

"That's if you can get him to talk about it. You know how stubborn he can be. He's already been asked about this guy and he won't answer. All we really know is the guy's dangerous and he'll stop at nothing to make sure Torn's life is finished," Jak told her. "But I'm still curious why the guy didn't do it while he had the chance."

Ashelin sighed, placing a hand on her chin as many thoughts floated though her head.

"We have to find something out about this guy soon but where do we go from here?" she wondered.

00000

Tryce walked into the room and turned on the light. He removed his hood from over his face as he walked over to the table.

"I don't have to worry too much about him now. He knows I've still alive and that I'm after him. Now all he'll have to worry about now is when I'll strike next. He's always been so nervous when around me. I can manipulate him so easily because of his fear of me," he quietly said.

He walked over to a map of the city that was hanging up on a wall and placed his hand on it. He thought about something for a moment before picking up a pen and circling an area near the middle of the city.

"He'll go to see her and soon. I know he will because I know him that well. Those injuries will not keep him sitting down for very long. She is the only one in this city to find out about our little secret. Too bad I couldn't finish her off for good when I had the chance but Torn wouldn't let me! Yet I found that after time, I realized that there was no sense to. She only has that parrot to talk for her and she can easily shut him up with talk about us. I've seen her do it before," Tryce told himself.

He stared at the circle even longer before crossing his arms.

"Torn, I know you will go to see our dear friend Onin and I will be there when you do," Tryce said.

TBC...


	5. Different Sides of the Story

Ashelin and Jak, with Daxter on his shoulder, walked through the streets, talking about what happened.

"What happens now the we can't really find out who it is?" wondered Jak.

"I don't know," Ashelin said.

"Who knows? It's like the guy wants to be found or something like that. I mean, why would he show himself to us? He has twice already," Daxter wondered.

They continued down the street before coming to a small crowd of people. They hurried up to join the people to find they were watching a few guards and one was kneeling beside a body. Ashelin and Jak made their way past the people. One of the guards saw them coming and tried to stop them before realizing who they were.

"Sorry ma'am," he apologized. "Didn't realize it was you at first."

"What do we have here?" she questioned.

"Another attack with simliar injuries to what Torn received. Definitely the work of the same guy, whoever he is. He's good. Apparently, she was with a few friends when she was taken. They never even realized she was gone until they found her body here," he explained.

Ashelin's eyes widened slightly with this new attack.

"Definitely must be working with a professional here," she said. "Do what you can here. I want to talk to all of you back at HQ later."

The guard nodded before watching Jak and Ashelin leave. They walked past the few people standing nearby. Some were talking to each other.

"It looks like the Clan is back," a man said.

"The Clan? But didn't they disappear years ago?" a woman questioned.

" We all thought they did but I guess not since at least one of them must still be alive," the first replied.

Ashelin overheard the conversation and stopped, walking up to the two. Jak stopped and watched her. Daxter glanced at Jak for a moment, wondering if this was worth their while.

"I'm sorry but I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying. What 'clan' are you talking about?" she asked.

"Don't tell me that you've never heard of the Clan of Invisibilty? It's legend! Didn't your parents ever tell you about them?" the woman asked, incredulous.

The two glanced at each other before shaking their heads.

"Figured as much. You look too young to remember something like that. Follow me, please. I will tell you about something that your parents should have once we get somewhere more private," the man said.

He motioned for them to follow, which they did. Ashelin was worried about what they would find about these people.

00000

The doctor walked down the hallway, heading towards Torn's room. He was glancing over a few papers before walking through the door.

"All right, Mister Torn. Since you're awake, I would like to talk to you," the doctor said.

He walked up to the bed and lowered the papers. He gasped, dropping the papers to the floor and hurried out the door.

"Security! We have a missing patient! We have to find him before he hurts himself even further!" the doctor cried out.

00000

Torn slowly walked alongside the wall, totally engulfed by the shadows. He was heading towards Onin's hut and he knew that she was expecting him. He stopped and glanced around the area, seeing if anyone had seen him. He was glad that no one had and saw that he was just around the corner to the tent.

"My parents certainly taught me well," he muttered.

Torn began to walk again and he headed towards Onin's tent. He clumsily sat down in front of the older woman, who appeared to take no notice of him. Pecker looked at Torn from Onin's hat, his beak wide open.

"I can't believe it! You actually walked here all the way from the hospital!" he said.

"It's one of the things that I've been trained to do. You know that. You should try it sometime," Torn snarled.

Pecker shook his head before Onin began to wave her hands and the two watched her carefully.

"What did she say?" wondered Torn.

"She says that she didn't not expect to see you for some time but she is glad just the same that you made it here safely. She wants to help you make a decision," Pecker said.

"I don't need any help making a decision," Torn angrily replied.

"Onin realizes that but she does want you to know about one thing. If you do decide to go back and leave the Guard, there's no coming back and it might cost you your life," Pecker told him.

"Don't you think I know that? You have forgotten where I come from Onin. My parents taught me how to avoid getting caught and persecuted," Torn said.

"But did that training of yours stop your parents from getting killed and the two of you getting caught?" Pecker wondered.

That shut Torn up right then and there. He closed his eyes and turned away from the two. Pecker knew he had hit a tender topic with Torn.

"I know what I want to do Onin. It's not like I asked to become a Krimzon Guard," Torn finally said.

Pecker didn't say anything as Onin moved her hands about. The bird looked towards the entrance of the tent to see a figure standing there. He walked inside and up to Torn, who remained emotionless.

"Hello Tryce," Torn told him.

"Nice to see you again dear brother," Tryce replied.

00000

Ashelin looked around at the different pictures lining the wall and tables. She couldn't help but wonder what this clan had to do with anything. Jak sat in a nearby chair as they waited for the man to return. He soon walked into the room with a tray and gave them each a drink before sitting down himself.

"Now please explain to us what this is all about," Ashelin told the man.

"My name is Azan and what I'm about to tell you is all true. The Clan of Invisibility existed until just over a decade ago. No one knows of anyone who was in this group or even how many there were. We've even forgotten how long the clan was even around. They existed within the city for many years. All we really know is that these people worked in silence," Azan started.

"Then how did you know they existed? I mean if no one ever saw any of these people - " interrupted Daxter.

"The style of the attacks is how we know. The few survivors of their attacks said they never heard anyone coming. Never felt uneasy in any given area. The same with those who were with the many who were taken. That's how they got their name since it seems they are invisible to everyone until they strike," Azan explained.

"Sounds like what happened earlier! We were told the girl's friends never knew that she was missing until it was too late," Jak said.

Azan glanced out the window and down the street. The memories were continuing to come back to him.

"It was like this every day and every night until they just vanished right into thin air. No one knows why or how. If they were caught, we didn't hear anything about it but I suppose at least one of them is still alive and free," Azan said.

"This whole thing sounds like what happened to Tattooed Wonder. He was left for dead," Daxter said.

"Who is this 'Tattooed Wonder' that you refer to? You mean to tell me that the girl from earlier was not the first one after all these years?" Azan questioned, his interest increasing.

The three shook their heads as Daxter jumped onto the arm of the chair that Azan was sitting in.

"His name's Torn. Tattooed Wonder is a nickname I have for him," Daxter replied.

Azan's eyes widened as he glanced over at Jak and Ashelin.

"Torn's still alive?" Azan asked in disbelief.

"Yes, he is and he'll stay alive, despite who's after him," Ashelin replied. "What about Torn that's so important?"

"I can't believe that Torn is actually alive after all these years. I wonder if both of them are alive?" Azan absently said.

Asheliln and Jak glanced at each other, wondering what that meant.

00000

"What brings you here Torn?" Tryce innocently wondered.

"Cut the crap Tryce. I knew you'd be here, just like you knew I'd be here. I'm not that stupid," Torn replied.

Tryce mocked being upset about this but Torn knew he wasn't. Tryce walked around Torn before kneeling down next to him.

"Why don't we get this done and over with? Take it like a man," Tryce told him.

Torn didn't say anything as Tryce snickered. Tryce stood up and aimed a gun at him.

"Prepare to die then," Tryce told him.

"Wait!" Torn quickly yelled out.

Tryce appeared alightly confused by this action and kept his position as Torn slowly climbed to his feet. He pulled out his communicator and dropped it to the ground.

"What is it now?" Tryce wondered.

"I'm dead serious when I say this Tryce but I want to get the clan back together," Torn replied.

"The clan back together? How ridiculous! How can the clan be fully back together again? You know it can't!" Tryce yelled at him.

"I realize that but what about the two of us at least? We can still carry on the legacy even though we've been inactive for over 10 years," Torn replied.

Tryce pondered this for a moment, barely moving his body. He narrowed his eyes at Torn before dropping his arm.

"I believe you. I've never known you to lie right to my face. Welcome back to the clan brother. First things first, I'm taking that communicator of yours and disposing of it elsewhere. Don't want the others to link our dear friend Onin to us," Tryce told him.

Pecker watched as Tryce picked up the communicator and then helped Torn out of the tent. He turned towards Onin, who moved her hands.

"If you say so Onin. I just hope that Torn didn't make the wrong choice," Pecker said.

TBC...


	6. Missing Person

"You know Torn?" Jak asked.

"Yes, I did. I knew his whole family before the incident. I was really good friends with them all," Azan replied.

The three could detect the sadness in the man's voice. Azan stood up and walked over to a nearby cupboard. He pulled out a book and opened it up. He ruffled through it before coming to a page. He walked back over to Ashelin and handed the book to her, showing her a picture of two elves. Daxter jumped onto the arm of the chair while Jak leaned over and all looked at the picture.

"Those two elves are Torn's parents. Their names are Alleena and Tharan and they were Haven's most prominent citizens," Azan told them.

Ashelin looked over the pictures in the album. She carefully studied the man and woman in the pictures.

"You said they - 'were' - Haven City's most prominent citizens. What happened to them?" Ashelin wondered.

Azan sighed as he turned away from the three. He walked over to a cabinet and stared at its contents for a few moments before returning his gaze back to them.

"They were murdered," Azan replied.

He sat back down in the chair and faced the two with a sad look on his face. He walked over to the fireplace and watched the dancing flames. The three patiently waited to see if Azan would tell them what happened.

"That night was one of the worst nights for Haven City. I awoke to hear sirens passing my house. When I went to the window to see where they were going, I saw they stopped right down the street at Alleena and Tharan's house and it was engulfed in flames. It was determined after extensive detective work that arson was the cause of the fire. Everyone heard about it and most of us believe that the Clan did it," Azan explained.

Ashelin remained quiet and so did Jak. Even Daxter didn't say anything. His ears were back and his mouth open in disbelief.

"So this Clan killed Torn's parents? I can't imagine how angry he must have been after that. It explains why he doesn't trust people so easily," Daxter said.

"Trust never came easy to Torn," Azan told him. "After he came back from visiting his uncle, he was devestated by the death of his parents and immediately withdrew from everyone."

Ashelin sighed as Jak motioned to hand the book to him. He skimmed through the pages before coming to a photo with four elves. Two he knew to be Alleena and Tharan from the earlier picture. One of the two boys in the picture looked like Torn but he was wondering who the older boy was.

"Who's this?" wondered Jak.

Azan walked over to Jak and looked at the picture. Daxter climbed over onto Jak's shoulder and looked as well.

"Whoever he is, he doesn't look like the friendliest person in the world. Sure wouldn't want to come across him in a dark alley," Daxter said.

"That's Tryce. I'm surprised that you don't know him. After all, he went to the Krimzon Guard the same time as Torn did. You can't know one without knowing the other. That's just not possible," Azan replied.

"We don't know him despite what you're telling us. I don't remember coming across him in the Krimzon Guard and I've known Torn the longest," Ashelin told him.

Azan looked between the three in total disbelief.

"You mean to tell me that none of you knew Torn had an older brother?" Azan asked them.

Jak, Daxter and Ashelin were all surprised with this news.

"Torn - has a brother?" Daxter repeated.

He thought about the idea for a moment before falling to the floor in a dead faint. Jak, Ashelin and Azan all looked at him.

00000

Tryce walked up to his brother as he sat on the couch. Torn looked around the room, impressed with what he saw: a bed, food, clothes and other supplies lying on the table nearby.

"You've done well these few years since you left the Guard," Torn remarked.

Tryce appeared smug with this statement as he paced back and forth in front of Torn.

"Unlike you, who has been serving the do-gooders of the city, I've been gaining new skills and gathering supplies that I might need if I did decide to return the old ways. I wasn't expecting you to join me so I have nothing prepared for you," Tryce replied.

"Don't worry about it. I wasn't expecting it either. I didn't even know that you were still alive. When I saw you back in the alley the other day, I thought about it and then I finally came to a decision to come back. I only hoped you would agree to it since I did leave you alone in the guard and all," Torn explained.

"And you should have never left me there! The day you walked out, I was left to defend for myself! We are outcasts no matter where we go! No matter who we befriend or despise. You should know that by now," Tryce replied, anger in his voice. "They forced us to serve them and so they must pay for it. The people of this city must be able to fear us again, just like what they used to feel. We won't feel fear again."

"Tryce, you're the only one who has ever been able to make me feel fear. Not even Baron Praxis had been able to faze me. You should know _that _by now," Torn quietly told him.

Tryce smirked before walking across the room and up to the table. He picked up a few files and walked back over to Torn. Tryce held the folders out to Torn, who took them.

"Remember the times when we actually had specific targets?" Tryce wondered.

"Of course. How could I forget? It was during one of these raids that we actually met Onin," Torn replied.

"After your injuries heal enough, I've got a few for us to do. There's some information about them," Tryce replied. "Take your time reading them. You're going to have some time on your hands. I'm going to be right back. I'm heading out to get you some clothes and more food."

Torn watched Tryce leave the room before opening the first folder. He was slightly surprised when he saw the picture.

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered. "He couldn't have known what I had planned to do. He did want to see me dead after all."

He held up the picture of Jak with Daxter sitting on his shoulder.

_'Well, the rat's not going to be a problem,'_ he thought to himself.

00000

Daxter slowly opened his eyes to see Ashelin and Jak standing over him. He didn't quite fully open them as he glanced between the two.

"I had this strange dream Jak. I dreamt we went to this guy's house and he told us about this clan who attacked people. Then he told us about this couple who turned out to be Torn's parents. Then he went on to tell us that Torn had a brother," Daxter quietly told him.

"You're not dreaming Dax. We're still at his house," Jak replied with a small laugh.

Daxter bolted to a sitting position and stared at his surroundings. He wanted to scream but he somehow managed to hold it back. Daxter's stare turned towards Azan as he stood up.

"All right, so I'm not dreaming. But I have to know something. What was this Tryce like anyway?" Daxter asked.

"When I knew them, Tryce always took advantage of his role as the older brother. He was never the type to listen to anyone except his parents," Azan replied. "That all changed when they went off to be Krimzon Guards. It was if they totally changed their minds about going there."

"You mean to tell us that Torn originally did not want to be a Krimzon Guard?" Ashelin wanted to confirm.

"No, he didn't. For some strange reason, the two of them went to become Guards soon after their parents died, which was odd since Torn and Tryce weren't going to become Guards at all. It was as if they had no choice in the matter. I haven't seen or heard from them since," Azan told them.

"Thank you Azan. You've been a great help to us but we really must be going," Ashelin said.

"If you must, then go. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me. Some people don't," Azan replied. "And thank you for telling me that at least Torn was alive. Torn and Tryce have been through a lot and I'd hate to see them go through anymore."

Daxter jumped onto Jak's shoulder as he stood up. The three walked out of the room and began to head towards the hospital. Azan watched them leave, a sad look creeping onto his face. He glanced towards the sky and sighed.

"Alleena, Tharan, I wish I knew what was going through the minds of your sons. I wish I knew everything was going to be all right," he quietly said.

00000

As Ashelin and Jak walked up to the hospital doors, they knew something was wrong. They glanced at each other before running up to the few guards that stood outside.

"What's wrong?" demanded Ashelin.

When they realized who it was, they immediately stood at attention.

"Ma'am, the guard who was with Torn was attacked and Torn was nowhere to be found afterwards," one told her.

Ashelin was shocked as she glanced back at Jak before they hurried up to the room to find the doctor and a few more Guards with him.

"He was gone. There were no indications of a struggle so I don't know who would have taken him or why. I can't see how he would have gotten out himself with his leg injuries," the doctor was saying.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, I can assure you," one guard told him.

Samos was standing near the room. Jak saw him and walked over to him.

"Samos, what exactly happened?" asked Jak.

The sage turned towards him and sighed as he stared into the room.

"The guard in Torn's room said he didn't hear or see anything. All he knows is getting hit in the back of the head and then waking up with the doctor hovering over him. The doctor says that he was going to talk to Torn about a few things only to find the guard on the floor and Torn missing," Samos replied.

"Whoever this guy is, he means business!" Daxter cried out.

"That's why we have to find him before he hurts someone else," Jak said.

"That's why we have to find Torn. We're going to find Torn and bring the guy who attacked him to justice. Let's go," Ashelin put in.

She headed away from the room with Jak and Daxter following close behind. Samos watched them leave and sighed.

"If they only knew," Samos quietly told himself. "I should go see Onin. Maybe she knows something."

00000

Torn glanced up from the papers as he heard Tryce walking inside. He laid the files down as Tryce headed towards the nearby table.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Torn wondered.

"Nothing's wrong. I simply had a little trouble getting here. Some of your old friends are out, probably looking for you," Tryce replied.

"They won't find me. I know they won't. We can work around them for we have before," Torn replied.

Tryce smiled as he walked over to Torn and sat next to him on the couch.

"We'll forget about them for now. Right now, we have to have a talk. If we're to work together again, we have to get a few things straight," Tryce told him. "A few things have changed since the last time we saw each other."

00000

Jak walked around the corner of the building. He, Ashelin and Daxter had searched for hours with no luck.

"We won't be able to find him without any help. You do remember how large the city is, right? He could be anywhere," Jak reminded her.

Ashelin sighed as she glanced around the area.

"I thought they might have come around here since Torn was originally found here," Ashelin said.

Jak shrugged his shoulders as he walked over towards the building that once housed the Underground's headquarters. He saw something sitting near the door and walked over to it.

"Ashelin!" he called out.

She hurried over to where Jak was kneeling over something. He turned towards her with something in his hand: a communicator. She moved closer to see two guns lying on the ground.

"Those are Torn's," she gasped.

"They are his and if they're here, where's Torn?" Jak wondered.

TBC...


	7. Back Home

Ashelin sighed as she sat in one of the booths. Tess was continually glancing over at her with worry. Daxter walked up to her side and sighed.

"She worries so much for Torn. I do too. He's been missing for far too long," Tess said.

"Yeah. He's been missing for almost a month and no one know where he could have been taken. As far as I understand, the whole city's been searched several times over and there's no trace of him anywhere," Daxter replied.

Tess hopped off the stool and walked over to the booth. Ashelin watched her every move but didn't say anything.

"I have a feeling that he'll show up somewhere and sometime soon. I haven't known Torn as long as you have but I've still known him to be a survivor and a fighter," Tess told her.

"I just can't believe how he was taken in broad daylight and no one saw it. And from a hospital even!" Ashelin replied.

"Don't forget what this Azan told us about a month ago. These people he told us about are supposed to be a bunch of professionals yet I really don't think that this clan exists. Personally, I think the clan story is a bunch of crap," Daxter put in.

Ashelin didn't bother to reply to that as Jak walked into the building.

"Hey Jak, what's happening?" wondered Daxter.

"Nothing's changed if that's what you're wondering. There's still no sign of Torn or the guy who took him," Jak replied.

"Whoever this guy is, he certainly knows what he's doing," Ashelin sighed. "I wonder if we'll get a sign that Torn's even still alive?"

"I guess we won't know until it comes. Until then, we're just going to have to keep searching. The way I see it, if Torn is still alive, his abductor can't keep up this pretense up forever. Torn has to be found sooner or later, whether he's alive or dead," Jak said.

"If he's still alive, I will not wait until he gets killed and dumped out into the street again. What we need now is a possible lead to where he might be and get him back alive," Ashelin replied.

Jak thought about it for a moment as Daxter jumped onto his friend's shoulder.

"Maybe Azan would know. After all, he's supposed to be the expert on these guys," Daxter jokingly suggested.

Ashelin and Jak's eyes immediately locked. Daxter was slightly worried as he glanced between them.

"What? What'd I say?" he wondered.

"Why not ask him? He might give us a clue us to where Torn is being held," Jak suggested.

"Hold it!" Daxter cried out.

Daxter grew angry as he jumped off Jak's shoulder. He placed his hands on his hips as he glanced between the two.

"If I remember correctly, Azan said that no one, I repeat NO ONE, knew ANYONE that was in this supposed Clan of Invisibilty. How can he lead you to anything?" Daxter yelled.

"That's true enough but he does know Torn and his family. That's good enough for me. I have to wonder why we didn't think to ask him before. Let's go!" Ashelin replied.

She quickly headed for the door, with Jak following close behind. Daxter watched them leave with clear disbelief on his face.

"I really don't believe this," he muttered.

00000

Tryce walked into the room, some groceries in hand. He snickered with what he saw and it didn't surprise him: Torn was standing near the table, looking at the map spread out on it. Tryce glanced around the room at all the maps and photos on the wall as he walked up to Torn.

"Looks like your legs don't hurt as much," Tryce mused.

"They haven't really hurt for a few days now but let's forget about that. I was thinking about going back to the old base for a few supplies. Unless, of course, you've already gone there. I don't know where you've been for everything," Torn replied.

"The old base? I hadn't even thought about going down there in a long time. I've been doing some work in the house several times in the past few years but not downstairs. At the time, I didn't think there was any need to," Tryce said.

A smile crossed his face as he placed a hand on his chin. He began to walk around the table and it started to make Torn slightly nervous.

"Maybe we should head back and get what we need from there. If it hadn't been found, there's probably a few weapons and such that we can use. Besides, you need some fresh air anyway. You've been stuck in here for the past month after all," Tryce agreed.

Torn nodded before the two grabbed their cloaks and headed out the door. The two started down the street, glancing at the people milling about. Torn gave a small smile as he watched them.

"They know so little about us it's not even funny," he muttered.

"They will pay for their beliefs. Remember the false rumour that circulated about the death of our parents?" Tryce asked.

"How could I forget? I remember thinking 'they think we killed ourselves? That's crazy!' I would still love to know how exactly Mother and Father were caught off-guard by those Krimzon Guard thugs. No one had ever snuck up on us like that before. I remember the training we had take to minimize something like that," Torn smirked.

"They only caught the two of us because of our grief. They wouldn't have otherwise," Tryce said.

"I agree. The people believe that our parents were killed by the clan. We'll show them otherwise since we could not defend ourselves," Torn said with a smile.

Tryce also gave an evil smile as they walked up to their former house. The house had since been rebuilt but they knew that no one had occupied in years.

"Well, let's go see if the old passageway is still there," Torn sighed.

He led the way to the back of the house and glanced around the back yard. Torn searched his mind for the entrance as he walked towards one of the walls.

"It shows that we haven't been here for a while and no one had found it. The grass and ivy have completely covered the entrance," Torn sighed.

"Yes, it hasbut we know where to find it despite all that," Tryce told him.

He walked over to the side of the building, Torn following him. Tryce knelt down and started to pull out the grass. Torn began to move the ivy and both smiled once they saw a wooden door peeking through the ground. Torn stared at it in total amazement.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get down there," Tryce finally said.

Torn shook his head as he broke out of his trance and nodded before they moved most of the grass and pulled open the door.

00000

Azan sat comfortably in his chair, reading a book when he heard a knock to the door.

"Who could that possibly be?" he quietly wondered.

He put down the book and climbed out of the chair. He headed towards the door and opened it to reveal Jak and Ashelin.

"Why it's you two. It is so nice to see you again. What brings you to see me? Have you found Torn yet? I heard he was missing," he wondered.

"We were hoping you could tell or show us something that could lead us to Torn. Since you know of this 'invisible clan' and you knew his family personally, we were hoping you could help us," Ashelin explained.

"I told you everything I know the last time you were here. I can't see how I can possible help you now. I don't think I can tell you anything that would help you and what you haven't already been told," Azan replied.

Jak and Ashelin sighed as they watched him. Ashelin narrowed her eyes slightly, placing a hand on her chin as a thought ran through her mind.

"Wait a moment, you said before that Torn and his family lived down the street. Do you think you could take us there?" she wondered.

Azan was a bit surprised by the request but he soon nodded.

"Sure but don't expect much. It's been abandoned for years now. Ever since the house was rebuilt, no one dared to live there," Azan explained.

Jak and Ashelin glanced at each other as Azan grabbed his coat before leading the two down the street.

00000

Tryce walked into the room and glanced around. Dust was being stirred up around his feet as he walked over to a nearby cabinet. Torn smiled once he walked into the room. Weapons, uniforms, beds and the few computers within the room were covered in dust.

"Looks like they didn't find it after all. So our secret is still safe after all," Torn remarked.

"Unless, of course, they find a way to hack into our files. We were assured that those files were secure. You know the leader of Haven back then couldn't resist putting that piece of information in them for everyone who follows to know," Tryce put in.

"And they are secure. I checked myself," Torn assured him.

Torn walked over to a computer and turned it on before sitting down in the chair next to it. Tryce walked up to him and watched the screen as Torn began to type.

"We might need information on this. Download it onto a disk and we'll take it with us back to our headquarters," Tryce told him.

"I still can't believe they haven't found us yet. After all, we are in the Underground's old HQ. Too bad they don't know about the rooms below the main area," Torn said.

"I remember using that area before as should you dear brother. We did use it before when we were out on raids," Tryce reminded him.

Torn nodded as he placed a disk into the computer. He stood up and walked over to the cabinet that his brother was looking at earlier.

"We came here for supplies, so, let's get supplies," Torn said. "Or are we just here for information on a old computer? We can always come back later on."

Tryce gave a smirk as he walked up to Torn. Tryce opened the drawer and they pulled out a couple of uniforms.

"I remember that Mother and Father meant for us to have these when we got older. Now's our chance to finally wear them," Tryce mused as he pulled out a helmet.

Torn nodded before hearing a soft beeping come from the computer. He hurried back over to it as his brother soon followed.

"What is it now?" Tryce wondered.

"The cameras are back? But how? They were all destroyed in the fire," Torn questioned.

"Yes, they are back again. That's why I came back: to put up the cameras in case I ever needed _to _come back here and I could keep watch for intruders," Tryce explained.

Torn started to type again and the several screens on the nearby wall came to life for the first time in over a decade. They carefully watched the screens, hoping to see who it was that entered the house. Their answer came on the lower left hand corner screen. Torn gasped in surprise as hisstare turned towards the ceiling as he heard footsteps above him.

"It's Jak and Ashelin!" he cried out.

"Who's that with them? Is that... Azan?" Tryce wondered, pointing to the older elf that was with them.

Torn looked at the figure and sighed in agreement.

"Yes, it is and if they met him, they know about you. They now know I have a brother," Torn replied.

00000

Ashelin gave a small cough as she glanced around at the bare walls.

"It doesn't look like much," she mentioned.

"No, it wouldn't. Everyone fears in living here. There is something about this house that scares everyone. No one had ever been able to figure out why," Azan told them. "I can't see how bringing the two of you here will solve the mystery of where Torn is."

"I'm not saying it will but it's the only thing we haven't checked out yet. Who knows? We even might find a clue here," Ashelin replied.

Azan watched as the two walked from room to room, seeing if they could find anything. After searching for some time, Ashelin walked back to the main room to find Azan patiently waiting for them.

"Did you find anything?" he wondered.

"No, I didn't. As soon as Jak gets back here, we'll leave," Ashelin sighed.

Jak walked into the room and shook his head when Ashelin asked him if he had found anything.

"At least we tried," Jak told her. "But we'll never find him now."

The three walked out of the house and began to head back down the street when Jak noticed a small pathway leading to the back of the house.

"Ashelin, wait!" he called to her.

The two stopped and watched Jak as he headed to the back yard. They followed him and when they turned the corner, they were surprised with what they saw.

"What do you make of that?" Jak asked.

"I think it's worth investigating," she replied as she stepped past him.

She headed towards the open door that was leading into the ground. Jak started to follow her but Azan did not.

"I'll wait out here. I don't know where that leads but it might not safe," was all he said.

Ashelin and Jak nodded before they started to walk through the door.

00000

"Holy crap, they've found the door! We have to get out of here!" Torn cried out.

"Get that disk out of there! Let's grab what we can and get going!" Tryce yelled at him.

They scrambled to gather a few belongings as they heard the steps slowly come down the stairs.

TBC...


	8. Talk of a New Threat

Torn smashed a piece of glass on the wall and hit the button underneath in order toconceal the weapons and screens, the walls they lay on moving back and plain walls moving from the sides to cover them. Torn and Tryce ran for the emergency exit after turning off the computers. Torn pushed a hidden button located near the door only to find it barely moved for them.

"I guess this is what we get for not coming here for so long," Torn groaned.

"We'll get it open. They can't find us here," Tryce told him.

As the door slowly moved, the steps of Ashelin and Jak getting ever closer to the bottom of the stairs. At the last possible second, it opened enough for them to get through. They hurried inside and quickly closed the door just as Ashelin and Jak got to the bottom of the stairs. Ashelin hurried over to the wall and examined it. She sighed as she found no possible way for her to follow.

"They've gotten away, whoever they were," she sighed.

She turned back around to find Jak in awe as he looked around the room.

"Amazing! What do you think they used this place for?" wondered Jak.

"I don't know. It almost looks like they used as a place as a refuge in the event something drastic happened. As ifthey were expecting a war or a natural disaster to occur," Ashelin mused.

She walked up to one of the computers and tried to turn it on but nothing happened. She tried all the computers and got the same result.

"Wiped clean. Someone didn't want us to see what was on these computers. I wonder why?" she muttered.

"I think whoever was just here recently didn't want us to find something. I mean, look at all this dust in the air.Something had been just moved. It's as if they heard us coming," Jak called out to her.

"Yeah. Whoever it was, they didn't want to be found. But why would they leave through the wall?" Ashelin agreed.

"Maybe it was Torn but if it really was him, why wouldn't he want to be found? Why would he abandon his friends like this? It's not like him," Jak posed as he walked over to her.

"Be careful what you say Jak. I've known Torn longer than you and I still don't know everything about him. He never really talked about himself to me. We really don't know what he's capable of doing," Ashelin told him.

"Mabye you're right but we really don't know where to go from here. We don't know if he's still badly injured or not," Jak agreed.

Ashelin nodded as she stared at the clothes in the drawers.

"Yeah, why would someone want to come back here?" she wondered. "Even better, who all knew about this?"

00000

Torn and Tryce ran up the stairs with what they had managed to take. They arrived at the top of the stairs to be faced with another door leading to the house.

"Do you think this one will open?" wondered Torn.

"There's only way to find out," Tryce replied.

He searched for the button on the wall and he found it. The door opened without any trouble and they hurried into the room. Tryce motioned to Torn to hurry and they ran towards the front door.

00000

Ashelin and Jak glanced towards the ceiling when they heard something coming from above. They listened to see what it was and soon knew.

"Footsteps!" they cried in unison.

They hurried up the stairs to be greeted by a very surprised Azan.

"What's going on?" he wanted to know.

"No time to explain, just come on!" replied Ashelin.

Azan followed the two out front and they arrived just in time to see two people driving away from the house on a zoomer. Jak stepped forward as they watched the two leave, unable to get a look at their faces.

"Looks like they got away," Jak said as he turned to face Ashelin.

To Jak, she appeared to be deep in thought about something. Azan started to walk down the street, towards his home.

"Listen, you're not going to find anything of use down there, trust me. I knew the family rather well. Whatever they have down there is not going to help you find Torn. They probably used it for storage or something like that," he told them.

The two watched him leave as Ashelin walked up to Jak's side.

"What do you think?" he wondered.

"I think something's not right yet I don't think it has anything to do with Azan. I believe he's telling the truth but between what happened today and what he already told us, there's something going on with Torn that we don't know about," Ashelin replied. "Let's head back before something else happens."

Jak shrugged his shoulders before following her.

00000

Samos walked into the tent and glanced around. Onin quietly sat on her mat as Pecker flew up to him.

"What brings you here Samos?" he wondered.

"I came to see Onin. I wanted to know if she knew anything about Torn," Samos replied.

Onin moved her fingers as the two watched her. Pecker nodded before turning back to Samos.

"She says that he's all right but doesn't know for how long. She says she senses an evil force following him but doesn't know how long it will be before it finally catches up him," Pecker replied.

"Is there anything we can do to stop it or even help?" Samos wondered.

Pecker shook his head. He flew onto the sage's shoulder and sighed.

"Something's coming and no one can stop it from doing so. With what Onin is saying, I'm afraid we got an even bigger problem on our hands than the Clan of Invisibilty," was all Pecker told him.

00000

Torn and Tryce ran into the building, gasping for air. They dropped the belongings they had taken from their former home onto the floor. Torn leaned against the wall, sliding down it until he sat on the floor.

"That was a close one," gasped Torn.

"Too close if you ask me. They had to find the entrance that we left open. Why did they have to check the back yard?" agreed Tryce.

"What next? They'll be wondering who the hell was in that room. They'll realize something's amiss once they start looking around," Torn told him.

"We have to deal with them as soon as possible. No one can know about us besides Onin. You know our friend is no problem for no one can understand her except that bird of hers and he's no problem because of us," Tryce told him. "Can you do this Torn? I know you've become _friends _with these two in the past several years. Even the rodent in a small way."

"I can do it. If I cared so much about them, I wouldn't have left on my own. So who's first: Ashelin or Jak? I can take care of the rodent, I know that. I remember that all of them were in the pile of folders you gave me a few weeks ago," Torn wondered.

Tryce smiled as he walked over to the folders. He opened them up and picked up one of the pictures. He walked back over to his brother and handed him the photo.

"Her first," Tryce said.

Torn said nothing as he stared at Ashelin's picture before he finally nodded.

"Ashelin first then. Let's get to planning her _unfortunate _demise," Torn replied.

00000

Daxter was cleaning a few glasses while Tess serves a nearby custumer when he heard the door open.

"So what can I get you?" Daxer asked, not even turning around.

"You can give me a way to your friends," came a menacing voice.

Daxter grew scared as he slowly turned around. He screamed once he saw the figure. He was covered in black, complete with hood and cloak. He held a gun in one hand and it was aimed right at him. Daxter noticed that he also carried a sword on his belt.

"What do you want with me?" cried Daxter.

"Believe me, it has nothing to do with you. I know that your friends have found something important," the figure said. "Now you! Get lost before I blow your head away!"

He pointed the gun at the custumer, who subsequently fled from the scene. The mysterious figure turned his gun back to Daxter and Tess.

"Who are you?" Tess quietly asked.

"You'll soon find out," came the answer.

He fired his weapon and a small metal ball hit the floor near Daxter and Tess. Gas leaked out, causing the two ottsels to cough.

"Should've seen that coming," Daxter muttered.

Both fell to the floor in a heap. The figure walked up to them, picked them up and shoved them into a bag. He walked out of the building, snickering along the way.

"I know their friends know where the Clan is located. I need to lead me to the Clan so they can finally be destroyed," he quietly said.

00000

"What a rescue mission this is turning out to be. Torn's nowhere to be found and there's no clue to where he might be," Ashelin sighed.

Ashelin walked into the Freedom HQ, Jak following her. The instant they stepped inside, both had a feeling of dread. They glanced around the room, trying to find anything out of the ordinary.

"I don't see anything wrong," Jak pondered.

Ashelin didn't say anything as she walked over to the wall. She stared at it for a moment before she heard a soft humming coming from the computers. She motioned towards Jak to look as words began to pour onto the screen.

"I don't believe it," Jak gasped.

As they read what was on the screen, Jak fell to his knees.

_Jak, Ashelin, you know someone we want and have the information that can lead us to them. If you want to see your rodent friends alive again, head to the bazaar. We'll meet you there in an hour and come alone. If you do not show up, we will kill everyone in the entire city, starting with you two. _

_Signed R and A _

_Go9_

"What have they done to you Daxter?" wondered Jak .

"Let's go!" Ashelin told him.

TBC...


	9. Many Meetings

Ashelin and Jak ran into the bazaar, hoping to meet up the mysterious person who ever recently sent the message. They slowed down and turned around, looking for anyone that might be the one they were looking for.

"We're here, so where're these guys?" wondered Jak.

They walked some distance further before Ashelin noticed a figure by an alleyway. His stare was aimed right at them and he motioned for them to follow. Ashelin tapped on Jak's shoulder to get hisattention and they headed after him into the alley.

"So who are you? A or R?" wondered Ashelin.

"I'm A," he replied.

"Where's Daxter and Tess?" demanded Jak.

"Your rodent friends are fine and they'll be returned safe and sound once I find out what I want to know," came the reply.

"And what would that be?" wondered Ashelin.

"I want you to tell me the location of the Clan of Invisibility," the man snickered.

Ashelin and Jak glanced at each other before she stepped forward.

"We don't know anyone in the Clan of Invisibilty. We only heard about them a month ago so how could we really know anything about them?" Ashelin told him.

The figure growled as he turned his back towards the two. He didn't say or do anything in response to the statement as he slowly stepped away from them. Ashelin and Jak carefully watched him, unsure how he would react.

"You're holding out on me. You know where they are located. You just won't tell me to protect them. Is that the case?" he demanded.

"But why would we protect them? By what we heard about them so far, they're nothing but criminals," Jak told him.

"And I'm not?" asked the man.

Ashelin narrowed her eyes as she followed the man's every move as he headed further into the alley.

"Where is he?" she demanded.

"Where is who? This 'Daxter' he mentioned just recently? I'm not telling you where he is until you tell me what I want to know," A replied. "I can see you're not going to tell me now. I'm going to give you 72 hours to change your mind and you are to meet me here at that time. If you do not show up or you do and still won't tell me anything, I will be coming after you first."

He lifted his gun and aimed it right at Ashelin. The two watched him as he turned around and disappeared into the darkness of the shadows.

"What do we do now? How are we going to find the Clan on such short notice?" wondered Jak as he crossed his arms.

"I don't know. As you already know, we don't know where to start looking so I think I'd better be prepared for the worst or else I'm going to be dead in three days," Ashelin replied.

00000

"And why don't you want me to go inside? It was my idea after all," demanded Tryce.

"It's because I know the layout of the building and you don't. If anything should happen, there's no sense in anything happening to both of us but I know nothing's going _to_ happen. They won't even know someone was there until it's too late," Torn explained.

"I'm still going with you and waiting for you outside. As you said yourself, if anything should happen and you do get surrounded, I want to be there to get your scrawny ass out of there. I didn't wait all this time to find you just for you to get killed by your ex-soldiers," Tryce replied.

Torn smirked as he stepped away from the table. His stare gazed over the map of the Freedom Headquarters interior. He faintly heard a voice in the back of his head, saying that he shouldn't do this because of his feelings towards her but another was telling him that he should because of his loyalty to Tryce.

"Torn, what's wrong? You seem as if you are in a daze," wondered Tryce.

Torn shook his head, not wanting to answer the question. Tryce slightly growled before stepping around the table and standing right in front of his brother. He crossed his arms as the two intently stared at each other.

"Are you having second doubts again? If you are, I will step in and take care of this hit myself," Tryce told him.

"I keep reassuring you that I can do this. Yes, I do have feelings for Ashelin but remember what you told me before; we are not like them. If they should find out who I really was, and am, they would hate me. They probably would've had a warrent out for my arrest long ago," Torn explained.

"You know that once we fully start up again, there's going to be a warrent out for our arrest anyway," Tryce reminded him.

"Though they won't know that they have to find us. They won't know what hit them," Torn smirked.

Tryce gave a small smile as he uncrossed his arms, stepping away from his brother and towards the door. He grabbed his cloak and put it on before turning back towards Torn.

"We'll continue this discussion tomorrow. Right now, we should go out and get a few more supplies before getting some rest. The next couple of days are going to be long," Tryce told his younger brother.

Torn snickered before followed Tryce out the door. Torn glanced back at the room before fully shutting the door. He wondered how they managed not to be found for so long.

00000

A walked into a room to see a man sitting in a chair, staring at a computer screen and his back facing the door. He walked over to the figure and crossed his arms.

"They wouldn't tell me where they are Rand," A told him.

"I'm not surprised they didn't yet. They are protecting their friend after all. Patience, Anthar, patience! We will meet up with the Clan again. They won't humiliate us like they did the last time we met," Rand replied.

Anthar sighed as he sat down in the chair next to Rand, who continued to watch the screen before them.

"So after we kill these two, then we go ahead with the plan?" Anthar asked.

Yes, we do. Everything is almost in place," came the reply.

He punched a few keys on the keyboard and images began to play on the screen, showing Ashelin and Jak walk back into the main room of Freedom Headquarters. Rand gave a slightly evil smile as he watched Ashelin walk up to the computer in the middle of the room.

"They must not link him to us. At least not yet they can't," Rand suddenly said.

He began to type again, intently watching the screen as Anthar quietly looked on.

00000

Ashelin began to type as she stared at the computer screen. She was obviously worried for she wanted to find out how the computers were tampered with. She tried to find a clue to who the two were or how they hacked into the computers but immediately found that everything on the screen began to slow.

"What the...?" she began.

The words 'stop and go back' began to pour across the screen. Jak stepped up to her side and glanced at her to see the frustrated look on her face.

"This search for information on the Clan is threatening to go slow," Ashelin muttered.

Jak crossed his arms and thought about what had recently occured in the alley. He paced back and forth before turning back to Ashelin.

"Ashelin, do you know if there were any other renegade groups in Haven City before? Ones like the Clan of Invisibilty?" he wondered.

Ashelin thought for a moment, a hand near her mouth before shaking her head.

"Not that I'm aware of, no. It doesn't mean there weren't any," she replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. It's something with that message that was sent that's bothering me. There's something that makes me feel there's more than just two of them because it mentioned nine at the end," Jak pondered.

Ashelin shrugged her shoulders before walking over to the window. She placed her hands behind her back and stared outside for several moments before deciding to answer.

"We can only wait to find out. Of course, if we have that long," Ashelin replied.

00000

Jak searched through the old newspapers, seeing if he could find any headlines relating to the current situation. He and Ashelin found that the library had old newspapers in the basement and both agreed that something within one of them might help. As he finished them one by one, he dropped it into an ever increasing pile on the floor.

"Why did I agree to this again?" Jak wondered.

Jak had been going through the papers for hours and he was finding no new information. It was beginning to frustrate him to no end. He threw down the paper he was looking through and placed his forehead in his hand.

"This is going nowhere fast and we don't have much time left," he muttered.

There were knots in Jak's stomach with worry over Daxter and Tess. He glanced over at a pile of papers on the floor nearby and his eyes perked up in interest when he saw the headline; 'Assassination attempt made by Clan.' He quickly picked up the paper to see what it was about. As he read through the text, a small smile began to grow on his face.

"Well, what do you know?" he muttered. "The Clan isn't as invisible as we first thought."

He began to skim through the rest of the text and his eyes were almost to bulging out of their sockets. He quickly stood up and ran out of the room.

00000

Daxter growled as he clung to the bars of the cage. Tess quietly sat nearby, not wanting to say a lot. She glanced up at Daxter before climbing to her feet and slowly walking over to him.

"Daxter, there's no way out of here. Whoever these guys are, I think they have plans to kill us," she quietly said.

Daxter jumped down, off the bars and turned towards Tess. His ears were laid back and his eyes were barely open as he stared at her.

"You really think so Tess? I NEVER would have guessed that. If Jak doesn't rescue us soon, we are all gonna die," Daxter replied, the sarcasm filling his voice.

The slam of a door interrupted their conversation, causing the two ottsels to twirl around in surprise. Anthar walked up to the cage, carefully watching them. Daxter stepped towards the bars and grabbed them with his hands.

"Have you come to finally kill us? If you have, just get this over with," he wondered.

"No, I haven't. I have come to tell you that I'm heading to see your friends now. If they give me what I want, then you will live. If they don't, you'll know soon enough. Most likely, they won't tell me," Anthar told them.

"Then why don't you just head out? Why tell us what you're doing?" Tess asked him.

The elf knelt beside the cage and unlocked the door. He barely opened it before reaching in and grabbing Tess. Daxter growled before jumping to free her but Anthar was too quick.

"Because, my dear, I wanted to let the two of you know how much longer you're going to live. This whole city is going to die whether they tell us or not! The first ones we start with are going to be you and your friends. After that, the Clan of Invisibilty, then everyone else," Anthar angrily replied.

Daxter's mouth dropped to the floor. His knees began to feel slighlty weak before he fell to the ground.

"You mean to tell me they actually exist? The Clan really exists? I thought they were a story told by some guy to anyone who would listen. I guess if they're after Torn, they could go after anyone," Daxter said, his voice slightly quivering.

Anthar glanced over at the ottsel, his mouth turning upwards into a smile. He carefully opened the door and placed Tess back into the cage before he began to roar with laughter. Tess and Daxter glanced at each other, obvious confusion on their faces.

"What's so funny about this clan going after people?" Tess wondered.

"You think you really know Torn? Let me tell you about your friend..." Anthar started.

"Now wait a minute! I wouldn't exactly call Torn a friend. He and I never really got along," Daxter interrupted, climbing to his feet.

"Whatever the case may be, Torn would never be a target of the Clan of Invisibility because _he is _a member of the Clan of Invisibilty," Anthar replied. "The only reason I'm telling you now is because you should know that before you die and I don't want to have an easy target when I get back."

Daxter didn't say anything as Tess carefully watched him. A slight twitch began to develop in his right eye before he fell forward onto the floor.

"Daxter!" cried Tess, her hands flying up to her face.

She hurried over to Daxter's side, watching Anthar depart from the room out of the corner of her eye. Tess didn't want to say anything with the recent news she found out. She thought she knew Torn well but she now knew she didn't.

00000

Torn sat in the chair, his elbow resting on the table sitting before him and his head resting in his hand. His other hand was holding a piece of paper. Torn couldn't help but stare at it with partly opened eyes. He barely registered the door opening in the background and someone walking inside.

"What's on your mind Torn?" asked Tryce as he walked over to the table.

His stare went to the picture sitting between Torn's fingers and he gave a deep sigh. He placed a hand on Torn's shoulder as they continued to look at the photo of their parents.

"You know that as much as we want them to come back, they can't. The only way they can live now is through what we do these days," Tryce told him.

Torn nodded in reply before putting the photo onto the table and he started towards the door.

"Where are you headed now? We don't need to go to the Freedom HQ for several more hours," Tryce wondered.

"I'm heading to see Onin. I'd like to see what she has to say," Torn replied.

"Don't go for too long," Tryce warned him.

Torn waved a hand in reply as he walked out of the door. Tryce crossed his arms as he watched his brother leave, narrowing his eyes before beginning to follow him.

00000

Ashelin carefully read over the paper's articles. Jak stood silently next to her, waiting for a reply.

"This is amazing. I never knew about this," Ashelin suddenly said.

"The part that I found strange about it was that the chase ended in the bazaar and this guy wants us to meet him there. For all we know, he could be someone from the Clan of Invisibilty that sent us on a wild goose chase," Jak told her.

Ashelin nodded before putting the papers on the tables. She began to pace back and forth, hands behind her back. She stopped several feet away from Jak before turning back around.

"You need to go see this A soon. I'd say go see Onin on your way to meet this guy. Maybe she remembers something from when this attempt happened," she finally suggested.

Jak nodded before heading out the door. Ashelin watched him leave, giving a sigh.

_'I just hope I'm prepared for this,'_ she thought.

00000

Torn walked towards the bazaar, stepping past the people like a ghost. He made his way into the tent where he found Pecker and Onin waiting.

"Torn, it is good to see you again," Pecker told him.

"Nice to see some familiar faces," Torn said.

Pecker narrowed his eyes as he watched Torn sit down in front of them, complete with cloak. Torn removed the hood and faced the two sitting across from him.

"What brings you see us at this time Torn?" wondered Pecker.

"I came to talk to Onin. You got a problem with that?" replied Torn.

Pecker flew over to Torn and stood before him, his wings on his hips and an angry stare on his face. Torn laughed before he and Pecker soon turned towards Onin, who began to wave her hands. Torn slightly turned his head to the interpreter to see what she was saying.

"She says someone's coming so be prepared for anything," Pecker said.

"Sooner or later, everyone comes looking for us. It's a fact of life with what I do. You haven't forgotten what I do, have you?" Torn simply stated.

Pecker gave a small laugh as he straightened up. He eyed Torn before flying back over to Onin and sitting in her hat.

"What really brings you here?" Pecker wondered.

"Same reason as before, to come and talk," Torn replied.

"I remember you coming here during your days in the Guard when you just wanted 'to come and talk'," Tecker said.

Torn gave a deep breath before anger filled his eyes. He pulled out his gun and aimed it right at the bird.

"Have you fogotten already what I had to deal with? With my parents getting killed and then subsequently getting captured?" Torn angrily asked.

Pecker screeched in fear, flying out of Onin's hat and hovering in the air above Torn, who stood up and growled. Pecker took one look out the entrance of the tent to see a familiar face. He squawked as he flew back down to Torn.

"Torn, look outside!" Pecker warned him.

The ex-KG did as Pecker said to see Jak walking towards the tent. His face showed immense surprise as he began to step away from the entrance.

"I thought I sensed someone coming. He can't find me here," Torn said.

Onin waved her hands and Pecker told Torn what to do. Torn glanced back at Jak as he went to hide from him.

00000

Jak glanced from side to side as he cautiously walked past the crowds of people, heading towards Onin's tent. He sighed for he figured that she wouldn't be able to give them any new information. He walked into the tent to see Pecker in a fluster.

"Jak, how nice to see you again!" he cried.

He was very jittery and there was obvious nervousness in his voice and Jak immediately became suspicious of the situation. He crossed his arms as he carefully watched the two.

"What's going on here?" he demanded.

"Nothing's going on. What makes you think there's anything going on here?" Pecker replied, a huge smile on his face.

"Something's going on and you know it. What is it?" Jak yelled.

Onin began to move her arms and Jak carefully watched her. Pecker slowly moved around Jak towards the entrance but Jak saw him out of the corner of his eye and grabbed him by the throat as he tried to fly away. Onin suddenly stopped waving her arms and quietly sat back to 'watch' the scene play out.

"What did she say?" Jak wanted to know.

"She said to go now before something happens," Pecker replied.

"What? What does that mean? Why would she tell me that?" Jak wondered. "Tell me what the hell is going on!"

He growled as he stepped towards Onin. He heard the click of a gun coming from behind Onin and glanced around before he saw the barrel of a gun glistening in the semi-darkness. He took a defensive position, releasing Pecker in the process as the figure stepped completely out of the shadows.

"Don't even think about it," Torn told him.

TBC...


	10. A Face in the Crowd

Yeah, I know I changed the number of the group that Rand and Anthar are in but someone was bothering meto be in it. (A few more of the names will be revealed later on in the story, I assure you.)

00000

"Torn? You're still alive? Where have you been? Why didn't you come back?" Jak demanded to know.

Torn didn't reply as he stepped towards Jak, who had began to back away. Torn had an emotionless expression on his face as he stopped just before Onin and Pecker.

"You shouldn't have come here," Torn told him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on here?" Jak wondered.

Jak held up his hands in front of him to protect himself. Torn cocked his head to one side as he shot an angry look towards Jak's direction.

"You've gotten in the way by coming here, that's what's wrong. I also couldn't have you threatening Onin and Pecker," Torn told him.

Jak glanced from side to side before his stare came to Onin and Pecker. He growled as he realized what happened, balling up his hands into fists.

"You knew about Torn this entire time? Why didn't you say anything?" Jak wanted to know.

Pecker nodded his head as he poked his head out from Onin's hat. He flew out and landed on Torn's shoulder. He interlocked his feathers as he tried not to look Jak right in the eyes.

"Well, you see..." Pecker started.

"They were asked not to say anything, simple as that," Torn replied. "But enough of this talk."

He began to pull the trigger but something held him back. He stared at Jak with narrowed eyes when he heard someone silently walk into the tent. Jak never heard him coming as he felt something poke into the middle of his back.

"Torn, why haven't you done something about this already?" came an eerily familiar voice.

Jak froze in his spot as he slowly moved his head enough to see who was standing behind him. His face showed immense surprise once he saw who it was.

"What are you doing here Tryce? I am handling this just fine," Torn demanded.

"Of course you are Torn. Then why didn't you shoot him already?" Tryce wanted to know.

Jak glanced between the two as a staring contest ensued between them. Jak immediately noticed that their guns contined to stay glued to his position. He didn't dare to move for he didn't know what to expect.

"We've been through this before," Torn told him.

Tryce didn't move or say anything as his stare went to Jak, who turned enough to face Tryce. Jak surveyed Tryce from head to toe.

"Now that you've seen my face, it's going to be one of the last things you'll ever see," Tryce told him.

"Where's Daxter?" Jak demanded to know.

"Daxter? We haven't seen him in weeks. Not since before I left the hospital," replied Torn.

Jak stiffened when he heard Torn say that. His breathing slightly quickened in disbelief as he glanced between the two before his stare rested on Torn.

"You _willingly left the hospital_?" Jak questioned in disbelief.

Torn didn't say anything but he nodded in reply instead. He slightly lowered his eyes, not wanting to look Jak right in the eyes.

"Some loyalties you have," Jak angrily said.

"What do you know about my loyalties Jak? How well do you really know me? Ashelin's known me much longer than you have and she still doesn't know anything about me," Torn had to ask with a laugh.

Jak crossed his arms as Tryce decided to give a small laugh. Jak wondered what was so funny at a time like this.

"You know, I was there the day the two of you met. Jak, do you remember the first things Torn said to you? I had to laugh when I heard him say those words," Tryce asked.

Jak's eyes widened as he thought about what Torn first told him just minutes after he escaped from the prison.

_'New faces make me nervous. Word is you're out to join the fight for the city. You know, picking the wrong side could be... unhealthy.'_

"It just became unhealthy for you," Tryce told him.

Jak twirled around to fully face Tryce and took a defensive stance, believing him to be the bigger threat. Tryce watched his brother over Jak's shoulder as Torn put the gun away and pulled out his dagger. Torn lunged for Jak, grasping the shoulders of the younger man. Jak struggled before he felt something cold and sharp touch his stomach. Torn placed a hand over Jak's mouth as he pushed the dagger further into him. Torn stepped away and stood next to his brother, watching Jak fall to his knees as he grasped his stomach in pain. A small pool of blood began to appear beneath Jak.

"Traitor," whispered Jak.

"That's where you're wrong Jak. I was never a traitor to you, I was a traitor to myself," Torn replied.

Tryce stepped forward and aimed his gun at Jak, who didn't appear to notice him. Tryce placed his finger on the trigger and fired the gun, hitting Jak in the shoulder. Jak slumped onto the ground in a heap as Torn walked up to him. He grasped his dagger and jerked it out of Jak's body. Both glanced over at Onin and noticed that Pecker had flown out of the tent sometime during the excursion and she had remained silent.

"Forget about him, we have to get out of here and clean that mess up. Someone will have heard that," Torn said.

Tryce nodded before the two picked up the lifeless form of Jak.

"He will make a good bargaining tool. Once they find out that we have him, we can use him against them," Tryce said.

Torn nodded in reply as they hurried out of the tent. Pecker watched them leave from the roof of a nearby building, wondering what was going to happen next.

00000

Anthar walked into the room to be greeted by Rand sitting at the computer.

"So, what did they tell you?" Rand wondered

He didn't even look up from the computer screen as Anthar walked up to him. He angrily sat down next to Rand, who finally turned towards his friend.

"What happened?" Rand demanded.

"They never showed up at the time specified to tell me anything. They will pay for their ignorance," Anthar replied.

"Then they will all die. The virus we have will finally come out for us to use. We have planned this for some time now. After we kill these two, we will dump it into the city water supply and watch as everyone becomes sick and dies. They won't know there's only one cure and that we have it," Rand smirked.

He stood up and walked over to a computer sitting across the room.

"Are you ready?" Rand asked his comrade.

Anthar smiled and nodded before standing up. He headed out the door, Rand carefully watching him with a smile.

"Taking over this city is going to be way too easy. Too bad the others couldn't be here to join us in this victory but I'm just glad that none of them are in the city, save one. If anything, he is expendable," he muttered.

00000

Jak groaned as he tried to open his eyes. When he saw darkness, he became terrified for he thought he was blinded. He was aching throughout his entire body and tried to move but he found he couldn't.

"Don't try to move, it's useless. You're blindfolded and bound," came a familiar voice.

Jak growled as he tried to free himself but found that ropes indeed bound his body to a chair.

"Why'd you do this, Torn?" demanded Jak.

There was a pause as Torn glanced towards where Jak was tied up in the chair. He walked up to Jak and stood in front of him, well knowing that he couldn't be seen.

"I did it because it's what I do," Torn replied. "It's what both of us do. Tryce and I have always been good. You should have seen us before the incident."

"And what exactlywould that be now? Escaping detection and capture? _Killing people_?" Jak wondered.

Torn laughed as he turned his back towards Jak. He crossed his arms and sighed, contemplating about the situation. He took a few steps away, wondering how to reply.

"Jak, my parents, Tryce and I were one of the most dangerous groups in Haven City until 12 years ago. Azan knew us but he didn't _really _know us. No one, and I mean _no one_, ever knew that we were the Clan of Invisibilty until we tried to kill the leader of Haven City 14 years ago. That's when we met Onin. I just might tell you the story later if you're interested," Torn told him.

"What do you have planned after killing me?" Jak wondered.

"We're not going to kill you yet. We have other plans that we have to go finish first, then we have plans for you," Torn replied.

Jak waited to see what would happen to him but nothing came. He heard footsteps walk back towards him and he could feel Torn's breath on his face.

"Tell me what you're going to do and where the hell I am!" Jak yelled at him.

Torn gave a smile as he walked away from the younger elf. He glanced at the door as it opened up to reveal Tryce walking in from outside.

"Are you ready for this?" Tryce asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Torn replied.

Torn turned towards Jak and gave a sigh, unsure how he was able to tell him what they had planned to do.

"Jak... I'm sorry you didn't have a chance to say good-bye to Ashelin," Torn finally said.

Jak's jaw dropped, unable to see Tryce jerk his head towards the door, indicating that they should leave. Jak listened as they left the building, leaving him in silence, pain and darkness.

"Oh my God, I never realized that he could be capable of doing this," he quietly said.

00000

Ashelin stared at the computer, elbows resting on the arms on the chair. One if her hands held her chin as she typed with the other. She glanced over at the guards standing just outside the room for she anticipated the man only known as A to arrive at any time to kill her.

"All this is right now is a waiting game. I still can't believe all the problems that I've had to deal with recently. With Torn being abducted by the Clan, who have been causing so much grief to the citizens over the past month. Then this happens with this 'A' and 'R'. Maybe Jak is heading in the right direction by saying that these two are part of the Clan of Invisibilty," she sighed.

Her head perked up in interest when words began to pour onto the screen. Her eyebrows narrowed in anger as she read what was being put before her.

"If I manage to get through this, I will stop you anyway I possibly can," she quietly promised. "I will not let you destroy an entire city like this!"

00000

A figure crawled through the rafters, heading straight for the upper levels. He had noticed the increased security around the building and was slightly confused by this.

"How could they have been expecting me? It's not like Jak escaped from where we had him in the building next door to the Underground's old HQ. I made sure he wouldn't be able to. Besides, in his condition, he wouldn't be able to move faster than me," Torn quietly said to himself.

He gave a deep sigh before starting to head further up the building when he heard a couple of guards nearby. He patiently waited for them to pass when they stopped right underneath him.

"Did you hear the latest rumour going around?" asked one.

"No, what is it?" asked the other.

"There's supposedly more than one person going around, commiting these recent attacks. I even overheard someone give a name to these people," replied the first one.

"And what's that now? This ought to be interesting," wondered the second.

"'The Clan of Invisibilty'. Can you believe it? I have to wonder how they got stuck with such a stupid name like that," came the reply.

Both began to laugh as they continued down the hallway. Torn leapt onto the floor and grinned as he watched them leave.

"If you only knew," he muttered.

Torn ran down the hall and into the elevator. He patiently waited as it made its way upwards, inwardly hoping that no one would be at its doors when they opened. Torn sighed in relief when he reached the floor and no one was there. He glanced around the area before heading toward the ceiling. He headed for the main room on the floor, hoping to find Ashelin there. If she wasn't, Torn knew how to wait and so did Tryce. He made his way into sight of the main room and he smiled with what he saw.

_'Good, she's here,'_ he thought.

Torn glanced back down the hall before throwing a rock. The guards went to investigate, as planned. Torn turned his attention back to her and waited for the right time to jump down and catch her by surprise. She was staring at the computer and barely moved. Torn jumped down behind Ashelin and grabbed her. Torn covered her mouth, preventing her from screaming. Ashelin tried to get a look at her attacker but immediately found that he was wearing a helmet. She began to struggle in his arms and also found that she couldn't move because of her attacker's strength. Suddenly, the few guards walked back to the room to see the scene.

_'Oh crap, I didn't know that any of them were going to be here. I thought I could get away with this, despite the increased number of guards,'_ thought Torn.

"Halt! You are under arrest!" cried one.

The three pulled out their guns and aimed them right at the assailant. Torn glanced at them before turning enough to put Ashelin between him and the guards. He aimed a gun right at her head, telling them that he wasn't going to hesitate in killing her.

"If you do this buddy, you are going to be caught and persecuted badly for it. No one attacks a governer and gets away with it. This will get you put behind bars," another told him.

"Oh, I know that," Torn replied.

He didn't show any concern for being recognized because the helmet muffled his voice but he also knew that the plans had to be put on hold because they had seen him. He headed towards the door on the other side of the room, taking Ashelin with her.

"Remember this as the day that you actually saw a member of the Clan of Invisibilty," Torn told them.

All four of them were shocked as Torn pushed Ashelin towards the guards. Torn immediately ran for the door, narrowly missing bullets as they passed by him. He felt a small sting on his right elbow and it made Torn was glad that he was wearing bulletproof armour for it never hit his skin. The guards continued to fire as they followed him. Torn pulled out a communicator and turned it on.

"Tryce, I've been seen by the guards! I'm on my way out right now, get away while you still can," Torn told him.

_"The hell I am without you,"_ came Tryce's reply.

Torn growled as he put away the communicator ad continued down the hall. His mind was distracted enough that he never heard the firing of the guns. The only thing that told him that they fired was the clang of the bullet off his armour. He stumbled onto the floor and glanced back at the guards following him. Ashelin was with them and Torn knew that she couldn't find him.

"Let's get moving legs," he said to himself.

He stood up and quickly hurried into a nearby room. Ashelin watched him as he did so.

"He's slowing down from when he was hit. Let's get him!" Ashelin told the guards.

They hurried into the room to find the mysterious figure had disappeared. Ashelin cautiously walked further into the room to find that one of the windows was open.

"He's outside! Let's get moving!" she yelled out, pulling out a communicator. "Guards, report to the areas surrounding the HQ. We have at least one trespasser who has entered the building!"

00000

Torn's feet hit the ground and inside the helmet, his face showed a wince. Tryce hurried up to him.

"This is great! The one thing you said wouldn't happen, did happen and you had to have gotten shot in the process!" growled Tryce. "How much does it hurt?"

"It stings a bit but go on ahead. No sense in both of us getting captured," Torn told him.

Tryce shook his head before they began to head into a nearby alleyway only to be stopped by about half a dozen Freedom Guard. They turned around only to find Ashelin and a few guards standing there. Ashelin carefully watched the two armoured figures. She had never seen armour quite like theirs before for it was silver in colour and looked almost like it was mearnt for the dark. She also noticed that the helmets the two wore covered their entire face.

"Not again," groaned Tryce.

"Hands in the air! I'm not going to let you two get away with this. I'm not going to let you two kill everyone in the entire city with that virus," Ashelin told them.

Both appeared confused by the statement as they glanced at each other. Tryce stepped torward Ashelin, her gun following his every move as he raised his hands.

"We have no idea what you're talking about," he told her.

"Of course you're denying it since you've been caught. Now where's the rest of your group?" demanded Ashelin.

The two glanced at each other before shaking their heads.

"There are no more. It's been just us for some time now," replied Tryce.

"I don't believe you two. But at least we know where to find you two, R and A," Ashelin told them.

Torn and Tryce glanced at each other, total shock on their faces. Torn stepped towards Ashelin, despite all the guns being aimed directly at him.

"We are not the ones you think. The ones you know as R and A are part of a group called the Group of 9. We are not them," Torn replied.

Torn turned away from her, despite knowing that Ashelin was angry enough as it was before he and Tryce ran towards the larger group of guards. They jumped on the nearby trash bin and flipped over the group. They held up their guns on order to fire but Ashelin stopped them before they could do anything.

"Allow me," she told them.

Torn and Tryce ran into another alleyway nearby and they stopped, breathing heavily. Torn shook his head in disgust.

"I can't believe those morons are back as well. I thought they learned their lesson a long time ago," snarled Torn.

He took off his helmet and threw it onto the ground before turning to his brother, not even bothering to notice where it landed.

"So did I dear brother but I guess they still have a need to get rid of us," Tryce said.

Tryce had just reached up and took off his own helmet when they heard someone coming. They glanced to see that it was Ashelin. She was slowly advancing further into the alley, not noticing the helmet sitting on the ground when Tryce quietly walked up to Torn's side. Torn glanced around for his helmet and saw it nearby in the dim light. He knew that there was the possibilty that Ashelin could see him.

Torn decided to take that chance when he quickly grabbed it before Tryce placed his arm around his younger brother's waist and fired a grappling hook.

Ashelin turned in their direction when she heard the noise. She noticed someone grab a nearby helmet and then head upwards. Ashelin couldn't help but watch them move skywards. She was surprised when she thought she saw the face of the one who grabbed the helmet.

"Torn?" she quietly said.

TBC...


	11. Talk of a Truce

Torn and Tryce ran into the the building, breathing heavily as they watched the door. Jak turned his head towards their direction.

"What happened? What's going on?" he demanded.

Torn stepped towards Jak, arms crossed. Jak could hear him growling quietly and knew he was angry about something.

"The ones we know as the Group of 9 are back. Well, two of them are back anyway and they're out to kill the entire city," Torn snarled.

"The Group of 9? Who the hell are they?" wondered Jak.

Torn sighed as the memories that were shoved into the corner of his mind came pouring out like a flood. Even though he knew that Jak was blindfolded, Torn tried not to stare Jak right in the face.

"Jak, I lied earlier when I said that no one knew before Onin found out. There were nine that knew. Some of the members, you actually know," Torn reluctantly told him. "They were our fiercest competitors for domination of Haven City's underworld of crime. We ended up saving the city a few times from these guys and no one ever knew it."

Jak mouth turned into a snarl as he tried to figure out which direction Torn was standing.

"So what do we do now Tryce?" wondered Torn.

Jak noticed that Tryce didn't immediately answer and Torn could see the anger in his brother's face as he paced back and forth.

"I think we might have to consider the one thing that we never had to worry about before," Tryce replied.

"You don't mean that? Or do you?" Torn said in disbelief.

"I do mean that. We just might have to call a truce with them and join forces long enough to stop these two. I realize that we've stopped their plans before but this time, we don't have the same resources. Not only that, we don't have our parents this time," Tryce replied.

"What's your parents got to do with this?" Jak demanded to know.

"A lot. As much as we know about the Group of 9 and how to deal with them, they had more contact with them than what we did. They still know them better than we do and the fact that we're more outnumbered than before. I can't believe that we're actually going to do this," Torn replied.

"Neither can I but we should probably wait a few more hours before confronting your friends again," Tryce agreed.

"You're right. I'll be right back. I've got some visiting to do," Torn agreed.

Torn started to head towards the door but he was soon stopped by Jak yelling over to him. Torn turned enough to see Jak out of the corner of his eye.

"What about me? Aren't you going to take me with you when you go back?" Jak wondered.

"Of course not. Just because we're going to call a truce with you and the others doesn't mean we're on friendly terms again. We don't give up victims that easily Jak. Not until they're near death. You know too much now so we really can't let you go just yet. You know Onin is our contact and you might be able to lead the others here. We do not want that to happen," Torn explained.

Jak growled as he listened to Torn walk out of the building. Tryce pulled a chair before Jak and sat in it. He began to laugh and it sent chills down Jak's spine. Tryce stood up and walked over to the injured elf and roughly grabbed his hair. Tryce yanked back Jak's head, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Now that Torn's not here, I get to do the job," Tryce eeily told him.

Jak gulped, not knowing what to anticipate next.

00000

Anthar stepped into the room and shut the door as soon as he did. He leaned against the closed door, a huge grin on his face before he started to laugh. Rand turned around in the chair, slightly confused by his friend's actions. He stood up and cautiously started to walk towards Anthar.

"What could possibly be funny?" wondered Rand.

"The Clan of Invisibilty is what's so funny at the moment. I went to kill the girl, as planned only to find Torn and Tryce beat me there to kill her themselves," Anthar explained.

Rand smiled once he heard this piece of news. He placed a hand on his chin, several thoughts swirling through his mind.

"They were cornered in an alley and I listened in on the conversation. Apparently the girl thought they were us but never found out the truth on who her attackers were for the two managed to escape. If those brothers ever decided to talk to Ashelin about us..." started Anthar.

"...they'll find out about us. They'll figure out to send him here! We can't allow that!" Rand angrily said.

"So what if they do? I say we let them," Anthar replied.

Rand gave his comrade a slightly confused look as Anthar began to pace back and forth.

"I say we let him come here and find us. Then we give him false information to relay to them to throw them off course. So how about that idea?" Anthar posed.

Rand gave an evil smile as he pondered over the idea. He nodded in agreement before heading towards the door, motioning to Anthar to follow which he did.

"We shall wait for them to make the next move. Then figure out what to do from there," Rand said.

00000

Ashelin walked up to the guards, who were all curious as to what happened yet none dared ask her.

"They got away," she told them.

It was as if she sensed their curiousity as she passed through the group. They carefully watched her, wondering what she really saw and heard.

"Let's get back to Freedom HQ. We have things to discuss," she told them.

They glanced at each other, slightly confused by her actions. Silently, they followed her back to HQ, wondering what she had planned to do next.

Ashelin stepped into the main room, the five highest ranking guards following her inside. They circled around the console in the middle of the room.

"Gentlemen, whoever these two are, they will have to be stopped and soon. I have a feeling they know where Torn is located so we do have to capture them alive. Send out men to search the city for we don't have much time," she told them.

They nodded in reply before heading out the door. Ashelin watched them leave, the anxiety slowly growing in her stomach.

_'We survived the war with the Metalheads. Is the city actually going to end at the hands of two men we know nothing about?' _she wondered.

She stared at the console in deep thought before giving a sigh.

"I need all the help I can get now," she whispered.

00000

Samos began to head back to Onin's tent, hoping to talk to her about a few things. He walked into the tent to find that she was telling Pecker something. Pecker's back was facing him so the bird didn't know he was there just yet.

"What do you mean by that? You don't think I know that already? Of course I know that Torn always faces the chance of death in his profession. He never did like us warning him. He still doesn't after all this time," Pecker angrily told her.

Onin finished the movement of her hands, causing Pecker to become very confused by her actions. He slowly turned around to see Samos standing behind him.

"Samos! How good to see you again! What can we help you with today?" he asked.

He was trying, unsuccessfully, to hide what he had just said but Samos narrowed his eyes at the bird.

"Torn is still alive?" he questioned. "How do you two know that?"

Pecker sighed as he glanced at Onin out of the corner of his eye. She was warning him of the consequences if he told too much.

"He has come to see us but he didn't want anyone else to know that he was still alive," Pecker replied.

He drooped his head slightly as Samos walked closer to them.

"But why? We're his friends! He should be able to trust us," Samos wondered.

Onin waved her hands and Pecker watched her, nodding his head. Samos turned towards him, wondering what she had said.

"She said that a person may believe they know somebody rather well but they can still surprise you after many years of friendship," Pecker replied.

"It's probably best if we talked about this later. Right now, Ashelin asked us to meet her at the Freedom Headquarters. It's about something that recently happened and she needs advice," Samos told her.

None of them saw the figure standing right outside the door. He turned away, happy with the information he recently heard from the trio.

00000

Torn walked into the building to be greeted by a not so surprising sight: Jak was now doubled over on the ground with Tryce hovering above him.

"Couldn't wait for me, huh?" he asked.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall just inside the door. Tryce gave him a smirk.

"I knew you'd hesitate," came the reply.

"So what should we do with him? Considering what we're about to do, we should probably take him back with us," Torn wondered.

Tryce barely considered it when he shook his head, giving Jak a kick to the stomach in the process. He began to circle the injured elf, who had begun to turn his head in Tryce's direction despite all the pain. Jak placed a hand on his stomach, trying not to show how much pain he was suffering.

"You'll never get away with this," Jak snarled at them.

"We already have Jak. They'll know we did it, but they won't ever catch us again. We should leave now anyway Tryce. Ashelin's gathering everyone to figure out what to do next," Torn told him, crossing his arms.

"May as well finish the deed on our way out. We shouldn't keep him for too much longer anyway. It's against our code," Tryce sighed.

Tryce forced Jak to his feet and led him outside the building. Torn was close behind them when Tryce shoved Jak further into the alley. Jak stumbled and fell to his knees. Torn stepped forward and knelt on one knee beside him.

"One last thing before we leave you to die," Torn told him.

Jak slightly stiffened, preparing for the worst. His answer came as something connected with the left side of his face. He could feel himself being lifted up and it was several moments before he felt ground underneath him again. He tried to stand up but found his body strongly protested. He cocked his head, trying to listen for anything but all heard was silence.

_'I always thought I knew Torn. I guess no one did,' _he thought.

00000

Ashelin paced back and forth, hands clasped behind her back. Onin, Pecker, Samos and Keira were already there, watching her movements. Now all she had to do now was wait for everyone else to make it. Ashelin moved over to the console.

"Jak, answer me! Where are you?" Ashelin said.

Her response came as crackling, the only thing she had been getting when trying to contact him. She sighed as she slightly turned her head towards the four.

"Had any of you seen Jak in the past several hours?" she asked them.

Pecker, Samos and Keira all shook their heads. Onin instead moved her hands as everyone watched her. Ashelin glanced over at Pecker, hoping for him to translate.

"She said she hasn't seen him for several hours but she knows that whatever happened to him, he will be fine," Pecker replied.

The whirr of the door signalled someone was about to step into the room. Ashelin carefully watched with a smile, hoping that it was going to be Jak. She was slightly disappointed when another familiar face walked into the room.

"Hello cherries, how's everything been these days?" wondered Sig.

"I wish that everything's been well but it hasn't," Ashelin replied.

Sig became curious, waiting for her to continue.

"We're having trouble from two different renegade groups appearing within the city. One attacks and kills people systematically, one by one, and the other is threatening to kill everyone all at once with a virus since we didn't give them what they wanted," Ashelin finally replied. "On top of that, Jak's apparently missing."

"Jak? How?" wonderd Sig.

"We don't know yet. He won't answer his communicator," Samos told him.

"When you contacted me, I wondered what was so important that you needed me," Sig sighed

Their conversation continued as two figures watched them from above, listening in and waiting for the right time to make their move. They watched as Ashelin stepped away from Sig and faced the console.

"All these guys sound nasty. I sure hope we find both Jak and Torn," Sig said.

"It's been over a month already. The chance we're going to find Torn alive is decreasing every single day," Ashelin replied. "With the attack on me earlier, I'm afraid that they're going to be back really soon."

Sig laughed once he heard her say that. He walked up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Ashelin, take it from me. Criminals are scumbags but it sounds like these ones are not stupid. Whoever attacked you earlier will not be back for they know you're on the lookout. You'll never see them again," Sig assured her.

Sig felt someone's feet push on his feet back, the air wooshing out of his lungs as he fell to the floor. He turned around to find a gun pointed in his face. Ashelin's eyes bulged once she saw who it was. Sig dared not to move in case they would fire. All in the room were surprised though when the figure withdrew his gun and placed it back in the holster.

"We're not here to harm you. We have come to call a truce," he told them.

"'We'? Then were's the rest of your group?" wondered Keira. "I only see one of you."

Another figure jumped down and crossed his arms as he stared at his companion. No one could see it but Tryce has a smile on his face as he watched his brother.

"Looks like the 'Accelerator' is back," he smirked.

"At least I'm not 'Mr. Ego', like you," came the reply.

Ashelin aimed a gun at them, hoping to get some answers from either of them. Sig managed to climb to his feet and joined her as he stood by her side. He was holding off charging up the Peacemaker until he knew how much of a threat they really were.

"Why the hell do you want a truce? If I'm not mistaken, you tried to kill me earlier," Ashelin wondered.

"That was before we found out the Group of 9 had plans to kill everyone. We have a common enemy in them but we can't stop them individually. Believe it or not, you need our help," Torn told them.

In the back of her mind, she wanted to trust them but since she had not seen their faces or heard their real names or voices, she was reluctant for their help, no matter how unlikely it was.

"You keep telling me you're not part of this 'Group of 9' but the Clan of Invisibilty and that you want to help us. I didn't believe you before and I don't now," Ashelin told them.

She began to pull the triggor but something stopped her. Tryce gave a smirk as he watched her when he perked up his ears once he heard someone heading towards the room. He glanced at Torn, knowing that he also heard the footsteps. Both brothers turned towards the door.

"I don't believe it! He's here!" Torn said in disbelief.

Everyone was confused as they watched Tryce pull out a gun and hurry to the side of the door. Torn followed suit and stood on the other side of the door.

"What's going on Daddy?" wondered Keira.

"I wish I knew," Samos replied.

Ashelin watched them, not knowing what to expect. When she heard the door begin to open, she was horrified for she was afraid that whoever was coming was going to get shot.

"Hey everyone," came a familiar voice.

Jinx walked into the room to be greeted by two barrels of guns. He was horrified as he looked at the figures holding the weapons aimed right at him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on here?" demanded Jinx.

He held up his arms as if saying 'I surrender' as he glanced between the two. They led him further into the room, keeping their guard up.

"Hold it! He's a friend," Ashelin protested.

Yet her protest fell on deaf ears when the two didn't move. Jinx smirked as he glanced between the two.

"Where are they Jinx?" demanded Tryce.

"Where are who?" Jinx wanted to know.

"R and A," Torn told him.

Jinx's eyes flew up in surprise as he heard those names. It was apparent that he wasn't expecting to hear them. He glanced over at the others and figured that it was no use to protest anything.

"Haven't seen 'em in over 10 years. Don't care to see 'em again. Now are you satisfied?" wondered Jinx.

Torn shook his head as he began to laugh. Tryce gave him a look of disbelief and so did everyone else.

"Do you think I expected to see _him _again?" Torn told him, jerking his head towards Tryce. "A person's allegiances don't change Jinx. You should know that."

"Yeah, you're right. We all do. You more than me, I suppose," Jinx sighed.

Ashelin and Sig stepped up to them, their guns ready. The three barely made any effort to look in their direction.

"How would Jinx know where these two are? Jinx isn't a criminal and if he was, I doubt he was partnered up with those two. If we're going to be working together, I don't want any secrets," wondered Ashelin.

Torn heard her words and cringed. He lowered his gun and head, wondering what to do next. He was inwardly hoping that they wouldn't find out who he was but it looked like his wish wasn't going to happen. Tryce saw him slightly falter and became worried.

"Ronto, don't fail on me now," Tryce told him.

"Ashelin, you may think you know your friends but you don't. Crytek and I know Jinx better than you do," Torn said.

"And how would you know who my friends are and how well I know them?" Ashelin snarled.

Jinx began to quietly laugh as he glanced between the two and everyone looked at him. Jinx moved towards the computer, Torn and Tryce keeping their guns locked on him.

"You haven't told any of them yet? Don't you think it's about time? Considering my old allegiances are coming out, what about people knowing yours?" wondered Jinx.

Torn didn't reply as he continued to stare at Jinx. He glanced over at Tryce, wondering what they should do next. The older brother gave a slight nod of the head and Torn knew what he meant.

"Enough with this talk! Take off the helmets or else I will shoot!" Ashelin cried out.

Torn put the gun back in his holster and turned to face Ashelin and the others. He stepped towards her, causing her to step away from him. Both her and Sig kept their guns aimed at him, not knowing what to expect.

"You want to know who's behind the helmet? Fine then, the helmet comes off," came the reply.

He lifted his hands and placed them on the sides of the helmet. He pulled it off and Ashelin lowered her gun. It fell from her hands as she stared at the person before her. Sig lowered his own weapon as they all stared in disbelief as the person standing before them.

"Torn? You're alive?" she asked, not believing what she was seeing.

"That's right Ashelin. I'm back," Torn replied.

TBC...


	12. Enter: The Clan of Invisibilty

"Why didn't you come back Torn? Why are you betraying your friends like this?" Ashelin demanded.

"That's really simple Ashelin. It wasn't you that I originally betrayed," Torn replied.

Torn turned in Tryce's direction and everyone followed suit. Tryce took off his helmet, revealing the KG tattoos painted across his face.

"I was never the person everyone thought I was. No one knew of my past as a member of the Clan of Invisibilty and I didn't want anyone to know. That's changed since R and A wants to kill everyone after all these years," Torn explained.

Ashelin narrowed her eyes as she carefully watched them. Her stare turned towards Tryce and she studied him.

"You're the one from the photo Daxter, Jak and I saw at Azan's house. You're Tryce, aren't you?" she mused.

Tryce nodded as he stepped to his brother's side. Torn glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, also noticing that Jinx hadn't run off during the distraction.

"Jinx, we do need your help. You're the only one who can lead us to Rand and Anthar," Torn told him.

"Rand and Anthar?" questioned Ashelin.

Everyone turned in Jinx's direction, who had began to appear nervous. Torn didn't appear to hear Ashelin's apparent confusion of the two new names.

"Torn, listen to what you're asking me. You're asking me to find and spy on two people that I called my friends and comrades from when I was in the Group of 9 with them. Besides, we had so many hideouts, I wouldn't know where to start lookin'. After your parents were killed and you two captured, we had no reason to stay together. I don't know if they would trust me anymore after all these years," Jinx replied.

Torn sighed as he turned away from him, never noticing the obvious shock on everyone's, particularly Ashelin's, face. Tryce did notice however and smirked.

"We understand if you don't want to help. Just remember that we still stay friends, no matter what happens," Torn said.

Torn and Tryce turned back towards the others, hoping to start forming a plan. Jinx watched them, narrowing his eyes.

"Listen up everyone. I know my loyalties are in question but this is one time that you must trust me. Rand and Anthar..." started Torn.

"Count me in," Jinx interrupted.

"What?" Tryce said in disbelief.

"I said 'count me in'. If Rand and Anthar don't believe in lettin' me in with their current plans, who needs 'em?" Jinx explained.

Tryce gave a smile as did Torn. Sig watched all three of them carefully. He wasn't too sure what to expect from any of them. He leaned in towards Ashelin, hoping the others wouldn't hear.

"Personally, I don't know if we can trust them anymore, seeing how they used to kill people for fun," Sig whispered.

"I know that but I am starting to see that they probably are the only ones who can help us. We have a common enemy after all but I still don't know," Ashelin quietly replied.

Sig said no more as Torn, Tryce and Jinx joined the others. Torn glanced up at Sig for a split second before turning towards Onin. He said nothing to her and she made no attempt to tell him anything. Pecker remained quiet himself, knowing that he should.

"Here's what I propose. Tryce and I will follow Jinx back to some of the old hideouts. What we're hoping is that we find them really soon," Torn told them.

"Know of anyplace that would be able to hold hostages?" wondered Ashelin.

"Hostages? Why?" wodnered Tryce.

Ashelin hesitated as she exchanged glanced with Sig.

"They have Daxter and Tess. I think they also have Jak. I'm guessing it would also have to be someplace that holds computers as well," Ashelin reluctantly said.

Torn closed his eyes, not knowing what to think. Jinx placed a hand on his chin in thought before finally stepping forward.

"I think I might know where they might be. There's only couple of hideouts that have both computers and room to have hostages. We'd better get movin' before somethin' happens," Jinx told them.

Tryce glanced in Ashelin and Sig's direction, wondering how they were going to react to this new development. Sig narrowed his eyes, wondering if they were indeed telling the truth.

"You heard the man. Let's go," Torn said.

The three headed for the door when Ashelin ran towards Torn and grabbed his elbow. He turned his head enough to look at her.

"What makes you think you can barge in here after all this time and tell me what to do?" she demanded.

Torn quietly laughed as he fully moved his body in order to face Ashelin. Tryce gave a smile and crossed his arms as he watched the two talk. Jinx silently stood by the door, waiting to see what would happen.

"Ashelin, do you want to stop these guys or not?" he finally asked.

"Why of course-" she started.

"Then it's your choice. You can try to stop these guys by yourselves, probably fail and then see everyone around you slowly die... or you can trust us enough to help you. We can lead you to them and we know how they will act and react but by the looks of it, you don't want our help. It looks like the only good thing of us coming here is getting Jinx," Torn explained.

Torn began to leave. Tryce joined his brother when he walked past him, giving a glance at the group before doing so.

"Torn, wait!" called Ashelin.

The three stopped before they walked out the door but didn't bother to turn around.

"Please don't go. We do need your help," she pleaded.

Samos watched Torn as the former KG glanced over his shoulder. Samos tried to follow the stare and thought he found it aimed right at Onin and Pecker. He didn't say anything as Tryce stepped towards Ashelin.

"Glad you finally saw it our way," he told her, a huge grin on his face.

Ashelin glared at him as she moved around him and towards Torn. Tryce and Jinx moved back into the room and began to talk to Sig and the others about the plans. Ashelin led Torn to a corner and she soon found that he wasn't facing her but instead was facing the ground instead.

"Torn, what did Jinx mean when he said that your parents were killed and you were captured?" she demanded.

"Ashelin, I really don't want to talk about it," he quietly replied.

She gave him a glare that indicated that she was not in the mood. Torn gave a sigh as he lifted his head enough to look her in the eyes.

"You really want to know about me Ashelin? Our parents were killed by the Krimzon Guard when our identities were found out about 12 years ago. The KG found us hiding out near our home several days later. We were given a choice; either be in the Krimzon Guard and fade out of existence entirely or else everyone finds out who we were and be publicly prosecuted for it! Our name would have been in ruins and our pride even lower than what it was! We never wanted to be in the Krimzon Guard but we were stuck there in order to save our asses," Torn angrily explained.

Torn shot Ashelin an extemely angry look as he headed back over to the others. Ashelin watched him with a sigh, not knowing what to think anymore.

00000

Jak slowly moved in the street, hoping to find someone anyone. He found he could barely move and every bone in his body ached. He looked up to see that no one was nearby. At least not that he could see. his vision was quickly becoming blurry and he couldn't even tell where he was anymore

_'Well, they certainly picked a good spot to dump me,'_ he thought to himself.

Jak managed to crawl to a croner of a building. He laid his back against the wall, hoping that something would happen soon. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

When he opened them up a split second later, he felt different. The pain that was so recently coursing through his body was now gone. Jak stood up and flexed his arms, wondering how he had healed so quickly without eco.

"Hello Jak," came a strangely familiar voice.

Jak turned around to see Damas standingin the middle of the street, staff in hand.

"Damas? How are you here? I thought you were dead," Jak wondered in disbelief.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not but that doesn't matter right now. What matters now is if you live or not. Your friends still need you Jak. More than you realize," Damas replied.

Damas silently walked over to Jak, who was still in disbelief over seeing his father again. The older man smiled for he knew what was on the mind of the younger man.

"Please be patient with Torn. He had to deal with in his lifetime," Damas finally said.

"How did you...?" started Jak.

Damas' eyes went to the building across the street. Jak followed his gaze to see that they were across the street from Torn's former house. Jak waited to see what Damas would say before doing anything himself.

"I know a lot more about Torn than you realize Jak. I came to know the brothers when they joined the Krimzon Guard. They were so distraught over the death of their parents and their recent capture," Damas finally told him.

Jak was horrified when he heard that statement. He stared at Damas, wondering how he knew of something like that.

"You knew Torn and Tryce were part of...?" demanded Jak.

"The Clan of Invisibilty? I do. I was one of the few who found out about the family. I had met the four in passing several times before I knew but I never suspected that they would have such a dark secret," Damas replied.

Jak watched as Damas walked over to Torn's old house. Jak soon followed him, figuring he should probably keep up.

"They still need your help Jak. As we speak, they're making plans to stop these two members of the Group of 9. Your friends believe that you're captured," Damas told him.

"But I haven't been captured! I have to find them! Torn knows what happened!" Jak started.

Jak closed his mouth as many thoughts swirled through his mind. Something was really bothering him but he almost didn't want to ask. Damas could tell, however, that something was on Jak's mind.

"Jak, what's wrong?" Damas wondered.

"I've been wondering how the Krimzon Guard knew who the Clan was in the end. By what I understood, the Clan _was _supposed to be invisible," Jak replied.

Damas smiled once he heard Jak ask that question. He turned to face the younger man with a story in his eyes.

"Jak, the day it all started to go downhill for them was the day they tried to kill the leader of Haven City 14 years ago. I remember that day quite clearly," Damas quietly replied.

"You were there when that happened?" came the astonished question.

"Of course! Who do you think was their target was?" Damas told him.

He began to walk away, leaving a stunned Jak behind. The younger man soon regained his senses and stared at Damas head off into the shadows.

"Wait! I have more questions!" Jak called after him.

He began to run after Damas, not noticing the sidewalk and tripping onto the hard pavement. Jak felt the pain course through his body once again. He tightly shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, hoping it was the result of falling down but he knew it wasn't.

00000

Sig watched the others before grabbing his Peacemaker. He began to head for the door when Ashelin saw him leaving.

"Where are you going?" she called out to him.

"I'm going out for a walk. I need to think some things through," he replied.

Ashelin nodded in reply as she watched him walk through the door. The door shut behind him before her stare turned to Tryce. She narrowed her eyes as she glanced between him and Torn. She could detect some uneasiness on Torn's part and she wondered if his older brother was the problem.

"Shall we continue with this plan once Sig gets back?" wondered Torn.

He received a round of nods before Tryce placed a hand on his shoulder. Torn glanced at him out of the corner of his eye before heading into the next room with him. Samos watched them, hoping nothing was going to happen.

"Once this is all over, you know we will have to do something about them. Everyone except Onin and that blasted bird of hers, annoying as he is," Tryce quietly said.

"Don't you think I know that already?" Torn spat out.

Tryce growled as he grabbed Torn by the throat, causing the younger brother to gasp for air. He continued to hold onto his brother's throat, even when the red haired man dropped to his knees and grasped at his brother's arms.

"Listen to me and listen well Torn. Don't forget who's in charge here. The only reason I'm letting you lead this charge is because you know these do-gooders and we need to stop Rand and Anthar," Tryce warned him.

He released Torn, who then began to cough and gasp for air when Samos walked into the room. Tryce turned enough to see who it was and gave an exasperated sigh.

"What's going on in here?" wondered the sage.

"Nothing. There was something my brother needed to understand," Tryce explained.

Tryce walked past Torn, who carefully watched him as he walked out of the room. Samos stepped towards Torn as he climbed back to his feet.

"It's none of your business," Torn snarled, answering Samos' unasked question.

Torn stormed out of the room, leaving the sage slightly confused.

00000

Sig walked down the street, glancing down the alleyways he passed. He was worried about the two brothers. He remembered hearing about the Clan when he was younger and it wasn't good.

"The Clan is supposed to be dangerous but they are willing to help us? I don't buy it. They have to be up to something," he muttered to himself.

Sig glanced around to see that no one else was around and that he was heading into a dead end street. He began to turn back around when he heard a groan coming from nearby.

"Who's there?" he called out.

He cautiously stepped towards the area where the noises were coming from. With his Peacemaker ready, was expecting anything to come out of the semi-darkness. He was glad there was light coming from the nearby streetlights.

When he came across a figure lying on the ground, he almost dropped his weapon as he instantly recognized who it was. He hurried over to the lifeless form and placed a hand on the shoulder.

"Jak, wake up!" he cried.

Jak groaned again, his eyes tightly shut, causing Sig to worry even more.

"What's going through his head now? I wish I knew. If I ever find out who did it, they are going to severely pay for this," he quietly said.

TBC...


	13. Trust and Treachery

Sorry for such a long update. Between having a bit of a writer's block, my grandmother moving and moving myself, I didn't have a chance to do this.

00000

Daxter paced back and forth in the cage, carefully watching Anthar as he sat in a chair by the door. The elf's eyes followed the ottsel, fully knowing the creature was angry.

"When are you going to tell us anything?" demanded Daxter.

"I am not going to just yet because it's none of your business. What I will tell you is that we're expecting an old friend of ours anytime now," came the reply.

"An old friend of yours is coming, huh? How many did the two of you have anyway?" wondered Tess.

"We had seven actually. We weren't called the Group of 9 for nothing you know," Anthar told them.

Daxter angrily stared at the dark haired man, hoping he would give some indication to anything at all but it looked like it wasn't going to happen anytime soon, if at all. He plopped down beside Tess, who glanced over at him.

"They'll find us. I can feel it. Though I don't know when," she quietly told him.

"How can they find us? They don't even know where to start lookin'. We're all gonna die. I know we are," Daxter sighed.

00000

Jinx dejectedly walked up to the door before glancing towards the roof of the building across the street. He saw Torn and Tryce sitting by the edge, carefully watching him.

"You do realize that we've been checkin' these old hideouts for a few hours now without any success. This one's most likely going to be a dead end too," Jinx said into the communicator.

"We know that but we have to try. As much as I dislike the rodent, I still wouldn't want to see him die at the hands of these guys. You know how Anthar works Jinx. He will eventually kill Tess and Daxter," Torn's voice crackled through the speaker.

Jinx gave a deep sigh before he started to open the door. He immediately noticed something was different about this time. He could tell by how the door moved; easier. A smile started to creep upon his face and the brothers knew something was up, even though they couldn't see it. Jinx gave a quick glance over his shoulder at the brothers, many thoughts swirling through his mind. Torn and Tryce watched as Jinx carefully stepped through the door. Tryce glanced over at Torn to see that he was quiet.

"What's wrong Torn? You seem quiet all of a sudden," Tryce wondered, trying to sound innocent.

Torn shot him an angry look, resisting the urge to punch his brother in the face but he managed to hold back. He didn't reply as Tryce turned away from him, heading towards the other side of the building.

"He'll come through Tryce," Torn called over to him.

"I know that and you know that but they don't and I am loving every minute of this," Tryce said with a smile.

00000

Rand stared at the computer, checking on the last preparations before the final execution of their plans when he heard a noise coming from the nearby hallway. He reached for his gun and aimed it right at the door, expecting the worst when he heard a familiar laugh.

"I guess I should have expected this type of greeting. You were never the type for giving a warm welcometo allies," a familiar voice told him.

"Jinx, how good to see you again. What brings you back here after all this time?" wondered Rand as he lowered his gun.

"I started to reminisce about the old days and I wanted to check out a few of the old hideouts again. I didn't realize that you were already here," Jinx replied.

Rand narrowed his eyes, carefully watching his former ally. He was wondering if Jinx was indeed telling the truth as he stepped to Jinx's side.

"Come, we have much to talk about," Rand said.

"Yes, we do Rand. I haven't been exactly honest with you. They're out to stop you and Anthar from killin' everyone and they want to get the rodents back," Jinx confessed.

Rand's eyes flew up in surprise as he listened to Jinx. Rand began to lead Jinx down one of the hallways, listening to what had to be said.

00000

Anthar turned towards the door as it slowly began to creak open. Daxter stood up as clung onto the bars as he watched Rand walk into the room.

"We have company Anthar, who wants to help us destroy this city once and for all. He's squealed his friends out already," Rand said a huge grin on his face.

The surprise on Anthar's face was apparent to Daxter and Tess. They stood up, intensely curious to see who the newcomer was going to be. When Jinx walked into room, Anthar crossed his arms and gave a smirk.

"Torn and Tryce told you what we had planned and you couldn't help but run to us to help, is that it?" he wondered.

"Of course it is. After all, we were a team at one point, weren't we? Even after all these years, I'm not like them," Jinx replied.

Anthar slowly nodded his head as they glanced towards Daxter and Tess. His mouth was wide open as his gaze continued to follow Jinx.

"You are nothing but a stinking traitor!" Daxter cried. "We helped you out when you were working for Krew and you had that bright idea for Jak and me to do when we came back from the Wasteland."

"Can it! The main reason I helped you and Tornis because I didn't want to see this city that we helped create fall to pieces by those creatures," Jinx growled.

Rand motioned for the two to follow him and the two silently did so, leaving the two ottsels dejected with the new revelations.

"What's this world coming to? An exiled elf ends up being Jak's father, Torn ends up being part of a mysterious clan that no one had ever seen beforeand now it turns out Jinx is friends with the two elves who wants to kill everyone," Daxter sighed.

00000

"You have no idea who could have done this?" demanded Ashelin.

Sig shook his head as he carefully watched her every move. She placed her hands behind her back and began to pace back and forth, pondering about the recent development.

"This puts a crimp into our plans. Jak wasn't captured by this Group of 9 but we don't know who did this to him. We have too much to deal with right at the moment," Ashelin quietly said.

"Have you thought that maybe that someone we know did it?" wondered Sig.

Ashelin twirled around and stared at the Wastelander. Sig thought he saw flames in her eyes and slighty shuddered.

"What do you mean by that?" she demanded.

Sig placed his hands behind his back as he started to circle around the redhead.

"Have you considered yet that Torn and Tryce might have had something to do with this?" he asked.

The question slightly stunned Ashelin, catching her off guard. She managed to shake her in reply.

"I didn't think so. I can tell that you still care for him, even after what you just found out," Sig said.

She gave Sig a glare that indicated the he shouldn't continue with the subject. Sig remained quiet as Ashelin stepped up to the window.

"Why would Torn attack Jak? There's no reason for him to do so," Ashelin mused.

"I never said it was them for certain. I only said there was the possibility. Listen to me. As long as we've known Torn, we really don't him after all anymore, do we?" Sig wondered.

Ashelin sighed, not saying a word as she tried not to look at Sig. She found her personal and professional feelings were blending together and she wasn't sure which ones to believe anymore.

00000

Rand led the two into another room. Jinx glanced from side to side as he followed Rand up to a nearby computer.

"With Jinx suddenly wanting to help us, we will have a slight change in plans. I say that in addition to the virus, we will place a few explosives. With that, the water will be contaminated in more ways than one," Rand told them.

The two nodded, huge smiles crossing their faces.

"Let's get moving then. We havesome work to do. Let's head out to get some explosives then we head to the water supply," Anthar told them.

00000

"The traitor! This wasn't part of the plan!" snorted Torn.

He slammed the communicator onto the rooftop before grabbing his hair. Tryce crossed his arms as he watched his brother pace back and forth.

"Remember Torn, this is Jinx we're talking about. He's the one who's our friend and enemy at the same time. I'm partly not surprised to see this. Just remember that _he was never one of us!_" Tryce replied.

Torn gave a sigh and a nod before the two started to head back to Freedom HQ.

"What are we supposed to do now? The one who we thought we could count on flips sides," wondered Torn.

"Well, we know where they are now. Maybe Jinx meant for that to happen, I don't know. I say we go back to the headquarters and let them know what's going on. After that, we come back and get the ottsels out and stop these two ourselves. There's no way your friends can help us now," Tryce told his younger brother.

Torn stopped, allowing Tryce to move forward. He stopped as well, turning to glance at his brother.

"You know I'm right," Tryce called to him.

Torn watched his brother head back towards the headquarters before getting enough courage to start moving again.

00000

Samos stepped into the room to find Jak silently sleeping in the hospital bed. The sage hoped that Jak would give any indication to what happened or who even did this to him. Inwardly, he was hoping that the younger elf would wake up and tell him everything at that moment.

"I wish I could help you Jak but none of us know where to begin," Samos muttered.

Samos turned to leave when he heard Jak mumbling from the bed. The sage moved closer, hoping to hear anything that Jak said.

"Torn… why?" was all Samos heard.

The mumbling continued for several moments before Jak barely opened his eyes and stared at Samos.

"Samos… it's you. Be… careful… of Torn," Jak barely said.

That was all he said before falling back into unconsciousness. Samos thought about what he just heard before hurrying back to the headquarters.

00000

Tryce glanced at the Guards standing silently outside as he and Torn stepped up to the doors. The air seemed tense as they headed towards the elevators to begin their ascent to the upper floors.

"What the heck is going on here?" Torn wondered.

Tryce barely shrugged his shoulders as they stepped into the elevator. It began to whirr to life as it began to slowly move upwards.

"We will find out soon enough when your girlfriend tells us," Tryce told him.

"Ashelin is not my girlfriend!" Torn protested, shaking his fist.

"Oh?" Tryce said with curious eyes.

He placed a hand on his chin, waiting for Torn to continue. The older brother noticed that Torn hesitated and snickered.

"She could have been but not now. Not when she knows what I am," Torn sadly replied.

Tryce gave a smile as the doors opened to reveal Samos, Sig and Ashelin standing around the inner computer. Sig and Ashelin immediately grabbed their weapons and aimed them directly at the two brothers. The two were surprised as they slightly raised their arms. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the sage stepped back from the scene, as if nervous about something

"What's going on here?" Torn demanded to know.

"Don't pretend with me Torn. Sig found Jak in an alleyway several hours ago. Samos just went to see him and he awoke long enough to warn us about you," Ashelin replied. "The two of you are under arrest."

TBC…


	14. Betrayel of Many Kinds

"You found Jak? How is he doing? Where did you find him?" Torn demanded

"You should know the answers to most of those questions since it appears that you're the ones who attacked him," Ashelin angrily replied.

Torn cocked his head slightly, narrowing his eyes as his stare lingered on Ashelin. He gave a smirk, lowering his arms to his sides.

"And what if we did?" wondered Torn.

"Then it shows that you're doing nothing but leading us on with a ruse in order to find Jinx and have him help lead you to this Group of 9. You must be working with them," Ashelin snarled.

Sig began to step forward, his Peacemaker beginning to glow. A small smile crossed his face, knowing that he was indeed right all along about the two.

"Neither of you know what you're doing or saying," Tryce told them.

No one said anything as Ashelin and Sig slowly made their way towards Torn and Tryce. The two brothers began to smile as the two continued to advance

"You really have no idea what you're doing. We're really your only hope in stopping these guys," Tryce smirked.

Ashelin stopped in her tracks, the words hitting a sensitive topic. She knew they could help them stop Rand and Anthar with their plans but at the same time, she somehow knew they did indeed attack Jak. To her, that showed they weren't completely on the same side.

"I don't believe you!" Ashelin cried.

She fired her weapon yet the brothers quickly dodged out of the way. They ran down the hallway, past all the guards. Once Ashelin rushed out of the room, they turned to her as if wanting to know for certain to follow the two.

"Go after them!" Ashelin yelled, throwing her arms into the air.

The guards began to run after the brothers as Ashelin watched them leave. She was kicking herself for believing that she could trust Torn, for trustung him all this time.

"I should have seen this coming earlier. I didn't know him as well as I thought I did," she muttered.

She hurried after the guards, hoping to take on Torn herself for what he had done.

00000

Tryce slammed open the door, allowing Torn to run through and then follow himself. They ran into the street to find guards closing in on them.

"How did Jak survive? He should be dead by now!" Tryce snarled.

"I don't know! He shouldn't have been found yet either! What I havefound is that the kid is a strong one," Torn said.

The two ran towards a nearby alleyway, the guards seeing where they were heading. Torn and Tryce ran to the end of the alley and glanced back at the oncoming guards.

"There they are!" one of the guards cried out.

They hurried after the two brothers, who watched them out of the corners of their eyes. Tryce turned his stare upwards to the roof.

"Halt! You're under arrest!" a guard's voice came.

Torn and Tryce turned around to see the group standing behind them, aiming their guns at them.

"You know us but do you know who we really are?" wondered Tryce.

The group shook their heads, making Tryce smirk. He glanced upwards before giving an exasperated look before once again placing his arm around Torn's waist and shooting a grappling hook to the roof of the building. The guards couldn't help but watch as the two sailed over the side to the roof and run off, not even taking a shot at them. One stepped towards the building and angrily spit on the ground.

"We will find them, no matter what it takes. They're nothing but traitors," he muttered.

He turned around and walked straight through the group, not even bothering to look at any of them. A couple shrugged their shoulders; others knew that finding the two wouldn't be easy. After all, they had escaped detection for this long.

They headed back to Headquarters to find an upset Ashelin. She was standing at the door, waiting for them, arms crossed. The tapping of her foot filled the ears of the guards and they feared the worst when they would give her the news.

"Where are they?" she demanded to know.

"They escaped ma'am," one replied.

She growled as she stepped around the group once before heading back into the building to be greeted by Sig and Samos. She placed her hands on the console in the middle of the room, the steam almost pouring from her nostrils. The sage walked over to Ashelin, leaning in closer to her ear.

"I'll go see how Jak is doing. Maybe he can give me some more information," Samos quietly told her.

Ashelin barely nodded in reply before the sage walked out of the room. Sig remained in his position, his eyes moving with her every move, what little moving she did.

"Now what are your plans to stop them?" Sig wondered.

Ashelin's face jerked towards him in response to him talking. She faced the computer again before giving a deep sigh.

"I have no idea," she whispered.

00000

The brothers looked down into the old alleyway that housed the former Underground headquarters. They quickly scanned the area to see if there were any guards around. When there weren't, they made their way to the ground and into the building.

Torn flopped down onto the neaest bed, his face covered with his hands as Tryce leaned against the nearby wall.

"There is no chance in hell that we're going to stop them now. Jinx is with them and now your girlfriend knows we attacked your friend so she's not going to help," Tryce groaned.

Torn slightly narrowed his eyes in anger but he was too tired and upset to argue with his brother.

"We have to deal with them one way or another though," Torn told him.

"But they still have the advantage," protested Tryce.

Torn climbed to a sitting position, a knowing smile on his face. Tryce smiled himself for he knew what that smile meant.

"They still have the advantage of numbers but we know where they are," Torn told him.

00000

Jinx followed Rand and Anthar towards the water supply, noting the directions the two were using to take him there. Rand carefully watched Jinx along the way, the tiny fear in the back of his mind that Jinx was not completely telling the truth. The three stepped up to one section of a building and stared at it.

"There is the water supply and here…" Rand said, stepping towards a nearby device. "…is what we're going to be using to kill the entire city."

Jinx stared at the viral bomb for what seemed like an eternity before smiling between Rand and Anthar.

"You always think of everythin', don't you Rand?" Jinx wondered. "You must have been plannin' this for a while."

Rand gave a small laugh as he turned enough to glance at the blonde.

"You have forgotten the old ways Jinx. You all of all people should remember how we had to plan the raids well in advance, despite the Clan knowing our every move," he replied.

Jinx nodded in reply, indeed remembering the old days. He took one last look at the bomb before glancing at his friends.

"If you want me to set up more explosives with this, I have to go get them," Jinx told them.

The two nodded, understanding as they headed back into the city. Jinx parted ways with the two, heading towards his home as Rand and Anthar began to head back to their hideout.

Once Jinx was out of sight, Rand stopped Anthar with his arm. Anthar turned towards Rand, slight confusion written over his face.

"Keep an eye on him," was all Rand said. "You know where he's heading. He's probably going to check in with his friends in order not to arouse suspicion but we can't be too careful."

Anthar gave a nod in reply before quickly heading after Jinx, leaving Rand behind in a state of curiousity.

00000

Jinx walked towards his home, knowing that he was being followed. He knew one or both would follow him and he had thought what he wanted to do once he reached his home. He stepped through the door and partially shut the curtains.

Anthar watched as Jinx moved around inside the building and walked back outside, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Jinx slowly headed in his direction and passed the alleyway that Anthar was hiding in. Jinx took a glance to his left and right before hurrying inside with him.

"I knew you were followin' me and I understand why but I don't think it's the best idea if you come followin' me close to the Headquarters. Believe me when I say that I'm back with you two," Jinx explained.

Anthar gave a small smirk before nodding his head.

"I will wait for you there, whether you like it or not. We'll head there together and I will tell you where we will meet," he replied.

Jinx nodded before they started off. Once they reached an alleyway just outside the building, Jinx gave a deep sigh.

"Go ahead. Just remember that you still have to prove your loyalty to us. I will wait here for you," Anthar told him.

Jinx nodded before heading inside. He eyed the guards as he stepped into the room only to be greeted by a fuming Ashelin. Sig stood silently nearby, glancing over at him once he stepped.

"Hey there, chilipepper. What brings you back now? I thought you would've come back sooner," Sig wondered.

"I was, um, preoccupied with Anthar and Rand, trying to info from them. I couldn't get much of anythin' out of them. I never had a chance to get away from them until now," Jinx replied.

Sig narrowed his eyes, carefully watching the blonde elf.

"Better be careful though with Ashelin. She's still upset about Torn. Apparently, he and his brother attacked Jak," Sig warned him.

Jinx's eyebrows flew up ever so slightly that Sig barely noticed it before the blonde walked over to Ashelin.

"Ashelin, I don't have much to tell you," Jinx told her.

"Tell me what you know," she told him.

Jinx could tell that she was trying not to let her anger control her. He hoped that he wouldn't say anything to set her off.

"Well, they are planning to set off a virus and soon. I could lead you to where they're keeping it until we decide to…" Jinx started to tell her.

"'We'?" Ashelin repeated, her attention immediately caught.

She turned her stare towards Jinx, who realized what he had said. He stepped away from her, knowing exactly how she was going to react.

"Uh oh," Jinx said.

He began to run out of the room as Ashelin yelled to the guards to stop him. Jinx quickly reached into his bag and pulled out a few hand grenades. He threw them in the direction of the guards, exploding on impact.

00000

Anthar narrowed his eyes as several loud explosions coming from the building filled his ears. They widened once he saw the billow of flame and smoke exploding before him.

"I think he's definitely back on our side," he mused.

Anthar crossed his arms as he watched the explosions progress further and further down the floors until he saw Jinx burst through the front door and head in his direction.

"I have no idea what you said, but I really love the result," Anthar told him.

"Do you think you can get Ashelin so I can talk to her? I need to tell her somethin'," Jinx requested, ignoring what Anthar said.

Anthar was taken aback by the request but he soon nodded his head before they hurried away from the scene. Jinx glanced over his shoulder, watching the guards get out of the smoking building before they hurried into the shadows.

00000

Jak still slept soundly as Samos walked into the room. The sage sat down in the nearby chair, hoping to get some more information out of Jak soon.

As soon as Samos glanced out of the window, he heard a groan coming from the bed. He turned to see Jak place a hand on his head and try to climb to a sitting position.

"Jak, you're awake!" Samos gasped.

"Samos, what happened? Where am I?" he wondered.

"You're at the city hospital, m'boy. You were found by Sig in an alleyway," Samos explained.

Jak's eyes burrowed in confusion as he stared at the sage. He racked his brain, trying to think of the last thing he could remember.

"We have to find Torn!" Jak suddenly spurt out.

"Thank you but your warning comes too late. He has already tried to kill Ashelin and failed. He and Tryce also tried for a truce but when you were found, it was called off for we know that it was them that attacked you," Samos told him.

Jak's eyes circled away from the sage and around the room. He began to climb out of the bed but Samos managed to stop him.

"Now where do you think you're going?" wondered Samos.

"Samos, as much as I want to get back at Torn and Tryce for hurting me, I feel they're still the only ones who are able to stop these guys and help Daxter and Tess. I have no idea where to find them but I feel like I have to try," Jak replied.

Samos was at a loss for words, stepping back as he watched Jak continue to climb out of the bed.

"You have some serious injuries, Jak. You are in no shape to go anywhere!" protested Samos.

"I feel much better. You can't stop me," Jak replied.

He climbed out of the bed and started to head towards the door when he collapsed to one knee. He growled as Samos stepped towards him.

"If you want to help, you're going to have to wait," Samos told him. "I will go talk to Ashelin. Maybe I can get her to change her mind."

Jak reluctantly nodded before sitting in a nearby chair and watched as Samos left the room. An idea began to swirl through his head and he wondered if it would work.

00000

Ashelin stepped outside of the Headquarters, her ears covered by her hands. Thoughts were swirling through her head about the recent events.

"I really cannot believe this is happening. Now how am I going to stop these two now? Torn betrayed our trust and so did Jinx. Our only two ways to know where to find the virus can't be trusted," she muttered under her breath.

She turned away from the burning building and towards the rest of the city. She partially closed her eyes, her index fingers moving towards her temples. Her mind was so preoccupied that it took her a moment to realize that someone had placed a hand over her mouth and was pulling her away.

"Do not worry about a thing. I have a friend who simply wants to talk," a familiar male voice told her.

Ashelin gulped as she felt the man stop and release her. She opened her eyes and immediately moved away from the elf that kidnapped her. She stared at him in awe for a moment before noticing the other elf standing beside her.

"Jinx, why you…!" started Ashelin.

She began to step towards him but was stopped when Anthar grasped her arm, holding her back. Ashelin snorted as she stared at Jinx.

"Ashelin, I'm sorry it had to happen this way but there's somethin' I need to tell you," Jinx said.

"I don't want to talk to you or Torn anymore," Ashelin replied.

She jerked her arm away from Anthar and crossed it with her other before walking away from the two.She found herself trapped between a wall and the two Group of 9 members and growled.

"I'm pretty sure that you want to hear this. Ashelin, believe it or not, we all have lives that we left behind. At some point in everyone's life, we want to go back to these former lives of ours but not many actually have the chance. Both Torn and I had our chances and we took them," Jinx explained.

Ashelin slightly turned away from Jinx, unsure what to think, watching the two out of the corner of her eyes. Jinx slowly shook his head before facing the ground.

"Looks like you don't want to talk. I can understand that. Remember that the next time we meet I'm not goin' to be so friendly. It's been nice workin' with you Ashe," Jinx told her.

Jinx turned away from her, walking towards Anthar. As soon as Jinx passed him, he was joined by the dark-haired elf. Anthar gave Ashelin a knowing smile just before the disappeared into the shadows. Ashelin ran after them, hoping to catch up with them but she arrived at the entrance of the alley.

"How'd they get away from here so fast? I have to get a few men out to disable this bomb. I just hope I'm not too late. I've been reacting the wrong way, dealing with Torn and Jak instead of the bigger problem," she growled.

She ran back to the HQ, hoping that she would get there in time.

00000

Jinx and Anthar were slowly making their way towards their HQ when Jinx stopped in an alleyway.

"What is wrong?" demanded Anthar.

"I need to get a few more things. I thought I had enough but I didn't and I kinda used a few to get away from the guards," Jinx explained.

Anthar nodded before motioning that he should leave. He watched as Jinx head away from him before giving a smile and began to head back to HQ.

"There's hope for this group yet," he quietly told himself.

00000

Torn eyed the map in the corner of the room and so was his brother. Tryce walked over to it and crossed his arms, his eyes floating over it better.

"Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe we shouldn't have gone to your friends for help. Maybe we can go after them ourselves. They only have one extra person and we know where they are," Tryce muttered.

Torn didn't reply as he stepped over to his brother. He really wasn't up to talking, his mind drifting back to Jak and Ashelin. Tryce had noticed his brother's quiet musings and instantly knew what it was about.

"It's about time they knew. It's not your fault how it turned out," Tryce quietly said.

"I know but I think we should head back and try to talk to someone," Torn said in a tired voice.

Tryce's gaze turned towards the area of the map that held the water supply. He gave a deep breath before placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"We don't have the luxury anymore. We should go and stop these three ourselves, with or without them," Tryce reminded him.

Torn gave a blank nod before climbing to his feet when a noise coming from above. It sounded like someone was opening a door and immediately slamming it shut.

"Who would've found us already?" Tryce angrily wondered.

Torn shrugged his shoulders as he shook his head at the same time. They stood on either side of the door, guns in hand for whoever was upstairs, inwardly hoping they wouldn't find the hidden door.

"Why did anyone ever choose this place for a hideout?" Tryce demanded.

"You can ask our ancestors when we join them soon enough," Torn replied.

They intently listened as the footsteps moved around the floor upstairs before stopping directly above them. The person remained still for several moments before beginning to move again, towards the door leading to the alley. Tryce and Torn sighed in relief before the steps turned back around and walked right up to the wall leading right to them.

TBC…


	15. The Beginning of the End

"I know you're here somewhere! If you're not, you know I'm here! Now where are you hiding?" a familiar voice called out.

Torn gave a surprised stare towards his brother, who shrugged his shoulders. The two lowered their guns, some relief written on their faces. They glanced over the screen in the corner of the room to see that was indeed him.

"How did he know how to find us here?" wondered Tryce.

"This is Jinx that's standing upstairs, Tryce. He knows us better than anyone else, you should know that. It's a good thing this place has a back door," Torn sighed.

The younger brother began to walk towards the wall furthest away from the stairs. He pressed a nearby button, allowing the door to open. He stepped onto the elevator, glancing over at his brother who threw his hands up into the air and hurried over to him.

The slightly cramped elevator whirred to life and headed upwards. It gave a sudden stop and opened a door to the alley. The two brothers eyed both directions before heading towards the former Underground doorway. They ran inside, aiming their guns directly at Jinx. The blonde haired elf raised his arms in confusion as Tryce slowly closed the door.

"'Bout time you guys arrived. You can put the guns down 'cause you don't need 'em now," he muttered.

"We don't know we could trust you. What brings you here to see us?" demanded Torn.

"I want you to get the rodents away from Rand and Anthar," Jinx told them.

The two brothers were quite surprised by the request. They lowered their guns and glanced at each other before their stare returned to Jinx for an explanation.

"I don't want the two to die at their hands. If you get 'em out, they just might live a little longer. I know I betrayed all of you by going back to the Group but this is what I want to do, just like yourself Torn," Jinx explained.

Torn was appeared slightly startled by the explanation before he placed his gun back in the holster.

"Anything we should know before we go to get them?" wondered Torn.

Tryce more than surprised with his brother's reaction and it showed on his face He stormed towards Torn and aimed his gun at him.

"What are you doing? He can't be trusted!" yelled Tryce.

"I did the exact same thing as he did Tryce so put the damn gun down! The original plan was to know what the Group was doing and get the rodents out if we could. We can still finish it if we go now," Torn angrily replied.

Tryce eyes shot up at the reaction he received from Torn. He remained quiet, patiently waiting for what Torn had to say when they heard a noise at the door. The brothers reached for their guns and Jinx grabbed a hand grenade.

"Who's there?" Tryce called out.

The door slammed open to reveal Jak, who stumbled into the stairway. Torn was confused as he stepped up to the younger elf.

"Jak, what are you doing here?" he wanted to know.

"I'm here to help you," Jak replied.

The three were more than surprised with Jak's request. Torn walked around Jak with intense curiousity written on his face.

"I don't understand why you would want to help us. After all, we _did_ attack you and leave you for dead because you knew too much," Torn wondered.

"I have a feeling you know where Daxter and Tess are located. I want to get them out of the clutches of those creeps who took them," Jak replied.

Jinx stared at Jak with an evil look when Tryce placed a hand on his shoulder. Jinx calmed down enough to listen to what else had to be said.

"Yes, we do know and we were just about to go get them, right Tryce?" Torn replied.

Torn glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye. The ex-Underground leader noticed that Tryce nodded his head ever so slightly. He knew the older elf well enough that he didn't like where the situation was going.

"Let's get planning then," Torn said to them.

He walked over to a table on the other side of the room, the three soon following him. Tryce watched Torn, knowing exactly what was going through his mind.

"What do you propose doing oh great leader? The young one won't be able to keep up," Tryce wondered.

"And I should go. Rand and Anthar are waiting for me to return. Just to let you know, we're going ahead with our plans when I return," Jinx told them.

Jak watched in horror as Jinx left the building. His jaw was almost hitting the floor as he turned to Torn for an explanation.

"He's a Group of 9 member. I've known that piece of information for years now Jak. There's nothing you or anyone else can do to change our allegiances. As for you, we have no choice but to take you with us but you're not going inside," Torn explained.

Jak opened his mouth to protest but Torn stopped him by holding up his hand. Jak carefully watched Torn, who turned around to face him. Jak could tell by the solemn look on Torn's face that he was dead serious.

"If you went in Jak, you'd ruin everything. Please trust me on this," Torn explained.

"But you're a 'known' criminal, so to speak, so I can't see how many people can trust you enough to do what you say. After all that you've done to so many," Jak wondered.

"This is coming from the elf who just asked for our help. Make up your mind Jak or I'll finish the job we started earlier. I don't think I'd hesitate this time," Torn threatened.

Torn reached for his gun, causing Jak to quickly shut his mouth. He began to listen to what Torn and Tryce had to say.

00000

Jinx stepped into the building to be greeted by Anthar. His arms were crossed and a huge grin was written on his face.

"What's so funny Anthar?" Jinx wondered.

"You are, my friend. Come with me. We have much to do," Anthar replied.

The two walked further down the hall and into the room that the ottsels were kept in. Rand stood inside, as if waiting for them.

"I know you went to your friends, probably not to arouse suspicion but I also know you went to your other friends: the Clan of Invisibility," Rand told him.

"What? How did you…?" Jinx demanded.

Rand rushed towards him, reaching for an area on Jinx's neck to pull off a small transmitter. Jinx growled as Rand crushed it in his hand.

"It picked up every word you said. I never doubted your allegiance to us, despite your ongoing friendship with the rivalry but we can't have them coming here and finding out secrets they shouldn't," Rand explained.

Daxter was now bouncing around in the cage with every ounce of strength he could muster and yelling as loud as his body would allow.

"You can't do this to us! Let us out of here!" he cried out.

He grabbed onto the cage bars and tried to pry them apart. Tess cowered in slight fear in the corner of the cage as Anthar stepped up to them, aiming their gun at him.

"You know too much already! You can protest all you want but it will not work. Now shut your mouths for we have some moving to do!" Anthar snarled back.

00000

Jak stared at the building sitting quietly on the ground beneath him. Torn stepped up to one side and watched the door.

"They must have just left 'cause there's no one inside. Remember to stay here until we get Tess and Daxter out. This won't take long," Torn told him.

Jak nodded as he watched the two scaled down the wall and made their way into the building, hoping that the two ottsels were still alive.

00000

The two brothers slowly made their way through the passageways, hoping to find the correct room for Jinx hadn't provided that piece of information.

"I only hope that they're not expecting us," Torn muttered.

Tryce didn't say anything as they continued down the hallway, intently listening to his surroundings. As they passed each room, they carefully opened the doors enough to see what was inside only to be greeted by nothing.

"This is useless! We're not going to find these rodents in time. There are too many rooms to search through," Tryce snarled.

Torn was unsure what to think about the situation, unable to glance in his brother's direction.

"Let's just check a few more rooms and then we'll get out," Torn quietly said.

They slowly made their way down the hallway when they heard a noise coming from nearby. Torn twirled around only to be greeted by Anthar.

"Surprise," Anthar said with a smile.

He aimed his blaster directly at Torn and fired, hitting him square in the shoulder. The bullet dinged off his armour but Torn still recoiled. He hissed in pain as his back came into contact with the wall. That allowed him to glance up at Anthar, who was now joined by Rand and Jinx. Between them was a small cage withTess and Daxter sitting inside.

"You came for your friends, we know that but it looks like everyone's time just ran out. Tough luck," Anthar said.

He carefully watched Tryce, who had kept his distance. Anthar smirked as the three began to walk out of the building. Tryce hurried over to Torn, whose anger had already appeared on his face.

"Looks like we got duped again by the one we know as Jinx. It reminds me of the old days. Now let's get going. Are you all right to move?" Tryce sighed.

Torn gritted his teeth before giving a small nod of the head. They hurried out of the room, hoping that Jak wouldn't do anything.

00000

Jak was slowly growing impatient by each passing moment. He was expecting - somebody - to walk out of the building at any time. His answer came when he heard the door open and footsteps move along the ground. Jak glanced over the side to see the three Group of 9 members heading down the street with the two ottsels.

"Where are Torn and Tryce?" he wondered.

"Right here," a voice behind him said.

Tryce stepped up to Jak's side, growling as he watched the three walk away. Jak turned his head enough to see Torn holding onto his shoulder.

"They were waiting for us. Now they're heading towards the water supply. Jak, you have to warn Ashelin," Torn told him.

"But what about those three? We just can't let them kill the whole city! They still have Daxter and Tess!" protested Jak.

"We're not going to allow them. I'm taking you back to your friends and Torn's following them," Tryce replied.

It was obvious to Jak that Tryce was not trying to hide the disgust he was feeling. Jak really couldn't blame him before giving a slow nod of the head.

00000

Ashelin stepped out the door, hoping to get some fresh air. The guards had turned up nothing in their search and it was beginning to aggravate her.

"In a way, my father helped create this city. Now everyone's going to die because of me," she quietly said.

She began to step back inside when she saw something fall out of the corner of her eye. She narrowed her eyes, wondering what it could possibly be when Jak stepped out of a nearby alleyway. Ashelin gasped before hurrying over to him.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?" she demanded.

"I left. I had to go find Torn. That doesn't matter now since Rand, Anthar and Jinx are on the move. They're heading towards the water supply as we speak," Jak explained.

Ashelin appeared shocked at this news. Tryce stepped out from the shadows and towards her, causing her to step back.

"What do you want?" she spat.

"What? No 'how do you do?' I'm insulted since I'm still here to help, even after the earlier accusations. If you don't want my help, just say so. Let's go and stop them ourselves, Jak. It's apparent she doesn't want to have anything to do with this situation anymore," he replied.

Tryce began to step away from the scene. Jak glanced at Ashelin before starting to follow him. She saw the look in his eyes as he left. It told her a lot more than what she wanted to know about what he was doing.

He wanted to help them, despite what they had done.

Ashelin began to consider her feelings over the situation and thought about all the times recently dealing with the various people around her.

"I've been overreacting way too much lately. What have I done?" she whispered.

She ran back into the building, hoping to find someone before it was too late.

00000

Anthar stepped up to the bomb as Rand and Jinx placed the cage down behind him.

"Watch, rodents, as we put your pitiful city out of its misery," Anthar said.

"You won't get away with this! Jak will stop you!" Daxter cried out.

"Daxter!" Tess cried out.

Anthar stormed up to the two ottsels as they finished speaking and gave a smirk.

"Your friend has gone to the Clan of Invisibility for help after they left him for dead. He won't be able to help you too much," the answer finally came.

Rand stepped up to the bomb with Jinx right behind him, intent on situating the remainder of the explosives. The two placed them next door to the virus. Rand stepped back once it was almost finished and crossed his arms.

"I do believe we're ready," he mused.

He began to reach for a remote on his belt when he felt a gunshot hit the ground next to his foot. He twirled his head around to see where it came from to see Torn standing on a nearby wall.

"Torn, are you still playing this game? Haven't you learned yet? The Group of 9 will always be around!" Rand smirked.

"That is about as likely as the Clan of Invisibility bein' around forever. I don't know what's happened in the last 12 years but the last time I checked, none of you had any children save one. She knows nothing about that part of her history. I should know," Torn laughed. "I can't see why any woman would want their children to end up like any of you anyway."

"I could say the same thing to you," Anthar retorted.

Rand whipped out the remote, holding it out enough for Torn to see. The Clan member eyed it carefully, knowing how close everyone was to death.

"Stay back or else," Rand warned him.

"You've got to be kidding me. You're planning to set it off whether I stay back or not!" Torn cried.

He lunged for Rand but found himself tackled to the ground. Anthar pinned him to the hard dirt, watching Torn struggle to free himself. The two rolled around in the dirt several times as Rand and Jinx looked on. Jinx never noticed Rand as he grabbed a crowbar lying nearby.

"Someone was certainly careless," Rand mused.

His stare went back to the struggle and laughed when he saw that Torn was losing. The two never took any notice of him as he stepped up to them.

Anthar finally got into a position to punch Torn in the face, knocking him to the ground. Anthar climbed to his feet before spitting on the ground.

"You are so pitiful. You've lost your edge over the years, serving the people of the city when they should have been afraid of you," Anthar laughed.

"You should remember that wasn't my choice! You might be dead right now if Tryce and I hadn't kept our mouths shut," Torn snarled back.

Torn attempted to climb to his feet when he felt something hard connect with his head. He saw stars before slumping to the ground in a heap. Rand tossed away the bar and began to walk away from the scene. Jinx curiously glanced between the two, worried about what was going to happen next.

"We leave him to die. Then the great Clan of Invisibility will be reduced to one and he will be no problem to us. Now we should get out of here so we can destroy the city since the charges are set," Rand told him, as if reading his mind.

Anthar passed Jinx and saw the worry in his eyes. Anthar growled slightly before grabbing Jinx by the elbow and dragging him away from the scene.

TBC…


	16. Fight for the City

Tryce was slowly making his way past the water, hoping to come across the bomb. Jak followed close behind, unsure what to expect next.

"I don't like this. It's too quiet," Tryce muttered.

"Were you expecting some action by now?" wondered Jak.

"I was expecting something, anything by now," was the reply.

Tryce's ears suddenly perked up, giving Jak's curiousity a jolt. The younger elf quietly stepped towards the Clan member before pulling him behind a wall.

"It's them," Tryce barely said.

Jak glanced around the corner ever so slightly to see Rand and Anthar, the latter literally dragging Jinx along behind him.

"Something happened to Torn. He's here. I know it and we have to find him quickly," Tryce said.

"But what are we going to do about those three? We just can't let them walk away!" protested Jak.

"Yes, we can and we will. If we manage to disable the bomb, we can deal with them later," Tryce immediately replied.

Jak shut up as the three stepped out of sight before he and Tryce began to make their way towards the bomb. They soon found it, with Torn lying motionless on the ground.

"Torn!" cried Tryce.

He hurried over to his brother's side and placed a hand on the injured elf's shoulder. Torn groaned once he felt the touch. Tryce began to growl as his stare turned towards the bomb. Jak stepped up behind the two, unsure what to think about their current condition: Torn suffered a serious head injury and he himself was not much better.

"They will dearly pay for this. Help me get him over there," Tryce ordered.

Jak nodded in reply as they gently picked up Torn. The elf groaned again before lifting his head enough to see who it was.

"Forget about me. Stop them," Torn barely said.

"I didn't wait all these years just to see you die. We work better as a team and you should know that," Tryce angrily replied.

The two placed Torn behind a wall far enough away from the bomb before Tryce turned back around and ran back towards the bomb.

"Where are you going?" Jak called after him.

"I've got to stop them!" Tryce replied.

Before Jak could say anything else, Tryce was out of sight. Jak glanced down at Torn, wondering what was going to happen to the two brothers.

00000

Rand stopped and twisted his head enough to glance in the direction the bomb was located. Anthar carefully eyed his friend as he stepped up behind.

"We are far enough away. Release our friend so he can witness the destruction that's about to start," Rand quietly said

Anthar did what was requested of him, allowing Jinx to twirl around to stare in the direction of the bomb.

"This wasn't part of the plan! I know the two groups are rivals and all but the thought about killing them never walked into our plans!" Jinx cried out.

"You're becoming absentminded Jinx. You've forgotten what the risks were in being a member of the Group of 9 or the Clan of Invisibility. Don't forget that there are dead on both sides yet we still outnumber them more than 3 to 1 despite this setback. It may have been that way in the past but now, it is war. Choose your side carefully," Rand reminded.

Jinx did not appear happy but managed to remain silent. He twirled around and began to head back into the city. Rand gave a small smirk, toying with the remote in his hands. He didn't bother to stop Jinx when the blonde halted anyway. He never bothered to turn around before balling his hand into the fist.

Rand's smile grew as he pressed the button. Jinx winced as the sound of the explosion filled his ears.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it? It's not like we haven't attempted this before," Rand mused.

His ears perked up in anticipation once he heard two pairs of feet running across the ground. He grew slightly confused once he realized that they were coming from the wrong direction. He turned enough to see Ashelin and Sig hurrying towards them from the city.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" wondered Rand.

"Stop right there! The three of you are under arrest for the crime of genocide," Ashelin ordered them.

"You are too late! The virus is spreading into the water and it will eventually kill everyone! Besides, you are no match for us! We have skills that you can never imagine!" Rand laughed.

Rand motioned towards Anthar, who grinned as he stepped towards the two. Jinx pulled out a grenade and stepped to his comrade's side.

"I could take you both on if even if Jinx were not here," Anthar warned them.

He began to advance towards them when he heard a gunshot coming from behind him, the bullet whizzing inches past his head. The noise surprised everyone present and they all turned towards the direction it came from. Rand and Anthar's eyes rose once they saw that it was Tryce. The Clan member was singed in various places from head to toe but standing before them despite that.

"You think you could get rid of us that easily? Nothing can slow us down," Tryce yelled at them.

"As much as I'd like to know how you survived a blast like that and how you got here so quickly, you still haven't stopped us. The virus is quickly spreading as we speak," Rand retorted.

"I don't think so," Tryce smirked.

He reached to his belt and grabbed something from around his waist. He lifted it up for all to see to reveal a vial. Rand and Anthar both growled once they saw it.

"Is that the…?" started Sig.

"It must be. We still have a chance to save the city," Ashelin said.

Anthar lifted his gun, aiming it directly at Tryce and firing. Tryce dodged out of the way and ran towards Ashelin and Sig. The Wastelander charged up his Peacemaker and fired it in the direction of the three group members. The three barely managed to get out of the way and scattered in various directions.

"Why are you helping us?" wondered Sig

"I'm not helping out of the goodness of my heart. I want our name back out into the street. Not only that, it was always our duty to stop them. Sure, there were two different renegade sects of elves in the city but how many really knew the danger they were in from the Group of 9? Not many," Tryce asked them.

Ashelin and Sig glanced at each other before shrugging their shoulders. Tryce couldn't help but smirk and hold out a hand as if saying 'I told you so'. None of them saw Rand step back into view with his gun ready.

"You will pay dearly for this Tryce! Anthar and I have waited years for a chance to ruin this city," Rand yelled at them. "Now if you'll be so kind as to give us the vial."

Tryce glanced at the vial still sitting in his hand. He shook his head, giving a laugh as he did so.

"If you think I'm going to give this up, you're dead wrong," Tryce snarled.

Rand gave a smile, knowing that was going to be the reaction he was going to get. He motioned to someone with his hand. Tryce glanced from side to side, wondering where either Anthar or Jinx was located.

One answer soon came when he heard a noise followed by a stinging sensation in the back of his shoulder. He grasped the injury, twirling around to see that it had been Anthar who shot him. He soon heard the clink of something on the ground and his eyes caught the sight of a grenade, answering his second question.

"Ashelin, Sig, get back!" he yelled at them.

The two heard him and immediately saw what he was talking about before running away from the scene. The three jumped just as the grenade exploded. Ashelin quickly sat up to see the charred remains where they were once standing.

"I never knew this side of you Jinx, or Torn. Is there anyone else I have to worry about betraying me?" she demanded.

Jinx thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Nope, you don't. If you only knew the others were in the Group of 9, then you'd be glad that you hadn't known before," Jinx replied.

Ashelin appeared slightly confused by the statement but managed to keep her composure. She aimed her gun directly at Jinx, eyeing Anthar out of the corner of her eye. Sig stood nearby, watching Rand and Tryce, who appeared to be engaged in a duel. Both were on the verge of firing their gun at each other for the possession of the vial.

"Tryce, why don't we do this the old school way?" wondered Rand.

"Hand to hand combat for the virus? What's the catch?" wondered Tryce.

"No catch. If I win, I get the virus and we get to see all of you die. If you win, well, you can do whatever you want with it and we will be on our way," Rand replied.

Tryce nodded, tossing his gun to the ground. Rand did the same before taking a fighting stance. The two drew closer together until they were in range of each other.

Rand took the first chance to attack. Tryce barely missed the fist before giving a swing himself. Rand felt the air whoosh out of him when he felt the blow connect. Tryce smirked as he watched Rand gasp for air.

"Ready to give up?" wondered the Clan member.

"Never!" snarled the Group member.

Rand took this chance to attack once again and the two continued to barter and receive the blows.

Sig and the other three watched the scene unfold. He was wondering if it was going to end in a stalemate until he noticed Rand getting the upper hand.

Tryce was not getting any happier when he noticed the same thing. He began to search for any way he could take the fight back into his own hands. He soon found his chance and began to take over again. Tryce continued to overpower Rand until the member of the Group of 9 was lying on his back.

"It is over. I have won and you will take those two and leave!" Tryce ordered.

"Tryce, have you forgotten who I am?" Rand asked him. "I belong to the Group of 9. I never keep my promises."

Rand stood up, pulling a dagger out from behind his waist. He charged for Tryce, catching him slightly unawares. The two fell to the ground, with Rand clearly overpowering Tryce. He managed to plunge the dagger into Tryce's thigh, who cried out in pain.

"No, my old enemy, you do not win. I do," Rand smirked.

He grabbed the vial before completely standing up. He twisted his head enough to see Anthar and Jinx waiting for him.

"Let's go boys. We have a job to complete," Rand called to them.

Ashelin was not happy carefully watched Tryce. A question that burned in the back of her mind was 'where was Torn and Jak?' She hadn't seen them for some time and she expected them to show up anytime but it looked like they weren't going to. She dreaded the fact that they could be dead..

"That was too easy," Rand mused.

He began to toss the vial a few inches into the air and catching it again. All worries of anyone stopping were erased from his mind. That was until a bullet passed his hand after he tossed the vial into the air. It fell to the ground and the three looked to see who shot the gun and all were surprised to see who it was.

"You! I can't believe that you're still alive!" Rand gasped.

"You'd better believe it. You're not going to get away with this. I won't let you," Torn snarled at them.

TBC…


	17. One Life for Another

"You are still alive? How can that be?" demanded Rand.

"It doesn't matter. What does, is that I have to stop you," Torn angrily told them.

The three could hear the slight pain in his voice, despite how he was trying to hide it. Rand stepped forward, obviously not worried about the virus as he passed over it.

"You are no match for us right now. Face it Torn, we have won the war," Rand told them.

"Think again. This isn't over yet and it won't be over until the last one dies," Torn told them.

Rand glanced behind him to see Jak jumping in between them to grab the vial sitting on the ground. Rand growled as he rushed after Jak in order to retrieve the virus. Anthar remained behind and began to advance on Torn.

"I don't know how you survived that blow to the head or even the explosion, but I will make sure you die this time!" Anthar cried at him

Torn watched the Group member carefully, knowing that any step could be his last one, or even Anthar's. He really hoped that Jak could get the virus far away from the water supply as he possibly could. The whole city depended on it.

00000

Jak began to run towards the entrance to the city as fast as he could. He continually glanced over his shoulder to see Rand following him.

"Wait for me Jak!" cried a familiar voice.

He felt something scurry up his moving leg and it came to rest on his shoulder.

"Hurry up Jak! I want to live a little longer," cried Daxter.

"So do I Dax and I imagine the entire city does too," Jak said.

The ottsel noticed that his friend was slowing down, most likely of the injuries he had heard about. Jak soon stumbled and fell to his knees, allowing Rand to catch up with him.

"Now if you'll be so kind, I'll take that back now," Rand told him, holding out a hand.

Jak shook his head, handing the vial to Daxter. The ottsel climbed off and ran behind a nearby tree. Rand growled as he began to angrily walk towards him.

"You will pay for this," Rand sneered.

Jak shook his head as the anger began to well up inside him. He knew he wasn't going to be able to hold him back this time.

00000

Anthar dodged another bullet fired from Torn's gun. The Clan member could tell that Anthar was not happy with what was happening and snickered.

"We will defeat you this time! You are in no shape to face me in hand to hand combat and your aim is getting worse," Anthar snarled at him.

"We've had worse and you know it!" Torn yelled at him.

Anthar slowly made his way close to Torn, who noticed what he was doing. When the dark haired elf got close enough, Torn threw down his gun and grabbed his dagger, which was hiding on his back.

"You expect to defeat me with a dagger in your condition? You are so pathetic!" Anthar told him.

"Look who's talking," Torn retorted.

Anthar began to snicker as he holstered his gun and pulled out a dagger himself. The metal objects made contact, on the verge of creating sparks. The two continued to trade blows, making contact on several occasions. Anthar soon noticed that Torn was quickly tiring.

"We don't have to do this, you do realize," Anthar said.

"What do you propose then?" wondered Torn.

"You can just surrender," Anthar proposed.

Torn gave a likely laugh before shaking his head. He lunged for Anthar, who conveniently stepped aside, causing Torn to fall to the ground.

"You are far beyond help Torn. You cannot go to a hospital for help for they will arrest you for your crimes and I doubt that you have the supplies or the skills needed to help you with your injuries," Anthar told him.

"Doesn't mean I can't take you with me in the process," Torn snarled.

Torn managed to stand up just as Anthar began to advance on him, dagger prepared to strike.

00000

Sig and Ashelin carefully stepped towards Jinx, wary of any move he could attempt. Jinx took notice of them and made no attempt to do anything.

"It's no use Ashelin, you're not gonna win. Rand and Anthar will get that poison back and kill the whole city," Jinx suddenly told her.

"How can we believe what you say?" wondered Sig. "After all, you've gone back to your old ways."

"No one's askin' you to," Jinx replied.

Ashelin cocked her head to one side, worried to what Jinx had planned next. She watched as he reached a hand into his duffel bag and pulled it back out. He was obviously holding something when he tossed it in their direction. Their eyes widened once they saw it coming.

"Sig, watch out!" she cried.

The two jumped out of the way and landed in the hard sand nearby. They heard the explosion and a cloud of dust filled the air around them. Both began to cough once the dust filled their lungs. They climbed to their feet and readied their guns only to find out that Jinx had fled the scene.

"Damn, he got away. I hate diversions like that," Ashelin muttered under her breath.

"What would you have done if we did get him?" Sig wondered.

Ashelin thought about it for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. She had no idea what to do with Torn either if they had ever arrested him for both he and Jinx helped liberate the city from the Metalheads. They turned to look to see where the other elves were and wondered if, or even how, they should help.

"Don't even think about helping," a voice called from behind them.

Ashelin and Sig turned their heads enough to glance at Tryce, who hadn't moved from his spot. He carefully watched the two as he tried to climb to his feet.

"And why not?" she demanded to know.

"Torn needs to prove to himself that he can do this, despite the fact he can barely stand on his own two feet. As for your friend, I think he can take care of himself, by the sounds of it," Tryce replied.

It was at the mention of Jak that Ashelin looked in the direction that her friend had gone in. She couldn't see him but the sound of growling soon filled her ears.

00000

Rand stepped back in surprise once he saw the dark figure loom towards him. He began to back away, unsure what the reaction was going to be

"What kind of freak are you?" Rand wondered.

Jak didn't answer as his irate alter-ego marched towards the Group member. He drew his claws up, with plans to skewer the elf in half when Rand pulled out his gun and fired it at Jak. He stepped out of the path of the oncoming bullets.

Dark Jak growled again before running towards Rand and grabbing him by the throat. Rand's eyes widened in fear as he grasped the hands of the dark figure and gasped for air, trying to free himself.

"You will pay for this," a voice rasped from within Jak

"Even if you kill me, Anthar will defeat your friend. He will come after you, get the virus and still contaminate the entire city," Rand managed to choke out.

Dark Jak extended the growling as he continued to strangle Rand. The Group member's movements slowed down before completely passing out. He limply hung in Jak's hand as the dark elf gradually changed back into his normal self. He dropped Rand into a heap on the ground and stared at the lifeless form lying before him.

"Tough luck you had to deal with him. Now it's going to end," Jak quietly said.

Jak roughly grabbed Rand up by the collar and began to drag him along the ground, towards the others.

00000

Sig began to lift his Peacemaker once he saw a figure heading towards him. When Jak came into view, dragging an unconscious Rand behind him, Sig was relieved. He lowered his weapon before stepping towards the younger elf.

"How did you ever take him out?" he wondered.

"My dark self did the job for me. You know how easy it can be for him," replied Jak.

Sig gave a small smirk as Ashelin stepped up behind him.

"Jak, you're all right but why are you helping them? I have yet to understand that," Ashelin wondered.

"I trust something an old friend told me. Someone who knew these two well," Jak quietly explained to her.

She was about to ask further about it when Jak dropped Rand to the ground near Sig and walked over to Tryce. He knelt to one knee, a curious stare on his face.

"What do you want to know? If anything, you should be more worried about Anthar possibly overpowering my brother. Anthar was never the type to easily give up," demanded Tryce.

Before Jak could open his mouth to protest, they heard the click of a gun nearby. Everyone glanced in the direction it came from to see Anthar, an arm holding up nearly unconscious Torn, whose body was trying to collapse to the ground but couldn't. The gun Anthar held in his hand was pressed up against Torn's temple. Ashelin was the first to step forward, hoping to resolve something between them.

"What do you want?" she wanted to know.

"Give me the virus and Rand or else I will kill him," he hissed. "Then the four of you are next."

TBC…


	18. Back into the Shadows

"Don't do it. Take it and destroy it," Torn barely managed to say

Ashelin carefully eyed Torn as he attempted to open his eyes enough to stare at her. Jak limped forward, knowing that Anthar would want to hear it from him.

"None of us have the virus. Daxter has it and it's obvious he isn't anywhere near here at the moment," Jak told him.

Anthar growled, pushing the gun further into Torn's head, who barely felt the movement. Tryce slowly climbed to his feet and barely managed to step towards Anthar.

"I'd rather die than allow you to defeat us," Tryce snorted.

Anthar aimed the gun away from Torn and towards Tryce. Anthar shrugged his shoulders as if saying 'it's your death wish'. Tryce gave a small intake of breath, unsure what to do next. He couldn't possibly let them have the virus but he didn't want to see his brother hurt any further.

"You don't know how to deal with this for you've never been in this situation. Your parents would be so disappointed in you," snarled Anthar.

Tryce growled, noticing a small movement in the grass. He didn't know what to feel when he saw Daxter make his way towards Jak, the virus in hand.

"Don't bring our parents into this," Tryce told him.

Ashelin quietly stepped forward and stood next to Jak. He glanced in her direction and saw the worried look on her face.

"Give it to them," she quietly told the two.

Jak and Daxter were both horrified by her reaction. The ottsel clung onto on the vial as he continued to perche himself on Jak's shoulder.

"How did you come to that conclusion? Are you willing to risk the entire city just to save someone who essentially used us for a number of years?" Daxter wondered.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," she crossly told him.

She snatched the vial out of Daxter's grasp and began her way towards Anthar and Torn. Once she got close enough, she held the virus towards Anthar, who snickered.

"You're making this too easy for me. After all that I've seen, I never expected you to be the type to give up so easily," he told her in a hushed tone.

Torn tried to elbow him in the stomach but Anthar barely felt it for the Clan member was in no condition to put up much of a fight.

"Torn, I'm sorry it has to be this way," she apologized.

"You're risking the entire city just for me. If you only knew more about the histories of the Clan and Group," Torn mumbled.

Ashelin barely caught what he said and shook her head.

"No, I don't know and I doubt I ever will. Someone has yet to tell me the full story," Ashelin replied.

Anthar began to reach for the virus when a shot rang out. He dropped Torn to the ground, who landed in a heap. Anthar glanced to see that a gun was sitting in Tryce's hands and that he was standing on his own two feet. Jak's position was directly almost behind him, Daxter still sitting on his shoulder.

"I can't let you do that sweetheart but there's too much on the line. I realize that you must still have some feelings for my brother but we can be expendable," Tryce told her.

Anthar growled, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Rand was slowly arousing from his unconscious state. Taking notice that Ashelin was preoccupied with the others, he lifted the vial from her fingers and took off running. Everyone's eyes opened wide before Sig and Ashelin ran after him, knowing the others were unable to do so.

"This is it. Guess it lies on us now," Sig mused.

Ashelin didn't reply for she was too worried about other things: she knew her life wouldn't be the same again after this.

00000

Onin quietly sat in her tent as Samos stepped inside. He carefully watched her as she began move her hands, as if synchronized with something far away or unheard to him.

"What is the matter?" the sage wondered.

Pecker flew down to the duo and landed on the ground between them. He grew nervous as he watched her hand movements. Samos thought that if Pecker's feathers could drain in colour, he would have seen it in that very moment.

"They're fighting for the city," Pecker suddenly piped up.

Samos watched him carefully, unsure when or what he was going to say next.

"The Group of 9 and the Clan of Invisibility are currently located outside the city, at the water supply. It looks like Torn and Tryce are sacrificing their lives for the safety of this city," Pecker explained.

Samos stared at Onin in horror, unsure what to think of the news.

'_Looks like we don't know the depths he'll go to, to save the city. If we had known before how his heart truly felt,'_ Samos thought.

00000

Anthar stopped, turning enough to see Sig and Ashelin behind him. He smirked as he opened up the vial and held it out to the nearby supply. The two stopped and saw how close it was.

"Come any closer and I'll drop it," he warned them.

Sig turned to glance at Ashelin, who lowered her weapon enough to say 'fine, I'll do it your way'.

"I knew you'd see it my way. You should know Ashelin, that Rand and I have been watching you for a long time now. Longer than what you realize. You are too weak to be governor of this pathetic city," Anthar told her.

Ashelin cocked her head ever so slightly, curious to what he was saying. She wanted him to continue, but she didn't want to let him know that.

"But you'll never be your father. Now he knew how to rule with an iron fist. Baron Praxis was an elf among elves," he spurted out.

Anger grew in her eyes as she re-aimed her gun at him. Sig smiled as he followed suit.

"My father was a brute," she told him.

"Shows how much you really knew about him then," the reply immediately came.

Anthar began to turn the vial upside-down when it was suddenly ripped from his hand. He twirled around; trying to find out where it had gone to find it was now heading towards Ashelin. Tess climbed onto the shoulder of Ashelin and handed her the vial. The redhead gave a smile as she glanced at it.

"Looks like you won't be able to do much more harm. We have the virus, Rand is in our custody so you have no way to talk out of this one," Ashelin told him.

Anthar glanced around the area, seeing if there was anything he could use to his advantage but growled once he saw there was nothing. He darted behind some nearby bushes and Sig followed him. He was gone for several long moments before reemerging empty handed.

"He's gone," he said.

"It doesn't matter. We'll find him eventually. Thanks to Tess, the city's no longer in danger," Ashelin assured him.

Sig nodded before they began to make their way back to the others.

00000

Tryce crawled up to Torn, who barely registered that his brother was nearby. Jak carefully watched them, wondering what going to happen to them now. He never noticed Rand slowly waking from his deep sleep.

He placed a hand on his aching head, giving a barely audible groan in the process. Through his blurred vision, he saw the trio standing nearby. He fumbled for his communicator. He grabbed it after several long moments and held it up to his mouth.

"Anthar, where are you?" he managed to say.

His answer came as a figure landed on the ground behind him and began to help him to his feet.

"We should leave before they see us," Anthar quietly said.

Rand nodded in agreement as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. Jak twisted his head enough to see them heading out of sight. He tried to run after them but the pain coursing through his body was preventing him.

"Let them go. They have been dealt just as much as we have," Tryce called over to him.

Tryce turned towards the direction of Ashelin and Sig, who were now making their way towards them, the vial in hand. Daxter smiled once he saw Tess sitting on top of Ashelin's shoulder. She stepped towards the brothers, arms crossed.

"The question up in the air now is what to do with the two of you. You have to pay for your crimes but you both helped save the city on several occasions by what I understand. I am prepared to hear what the two of you have to say about all this," Ashelin posed to them.

Torn eyes fluttered open and moved to Ashelin's direction. His stare stayed focused on her as he slowly climbed to a sitting position.

"Ashelin, I know you have a right to lock us up but we can escape any prison you throw us into and you know it. If you tell people who we really are, they might not believe what you say because of the reputation our family has. What I have done in the recent past to help save the city is known by many people as well. From now on, no matter what anyone does, we are on our own and you don't need our help anymore," Torn explained.

Ashelin stepped toward him, slight sadness in her eyes. She lifted a hand up in the direction of Torn, who closed his eyes and turned away from her. He began to limp for the door leading to the city, not even making any indication that he was going to take another look at them. Tryce soon began to follow him, knowing that the connections were being severed.

Torn, wait a moment! I have a question!" Jak suddenly called after him.

Torn slowly stopped but didn't bother to turn around to face them.

"I want to know when you had met Onin. Was it the night you tried to kill my father?" Jak wondered.

"I don't know who your father is, Jak. You know who he is but never told me who it was. Besides, we've tried to kill so many people over the years that I forget all their faces," Torn immediately said.

"My father was Damas," Jak told him.

Torn slightly lowered his head. His feet slowly began to move again. Jak's heart sunk as he watched the Clan member leave.

"Yes, it was," Torn voice called to him.

Jak's head perked up in interest, hoping to ask more but the two had disappeared from sight, leaving him, Ashelin, Sig and the ottsels behind. Ashelin stepped to the back of the group, not wanting to allow the others to see her eyes, which were on the verge of dropping tears.

TBC…


	19. The End of a Legacy?

Torn and Tryce were slowly making their way through the streets, hiding in the darkest shadows along the way. Every moment they moved, it seemed like an hour had gone by. They soon arrived to a familiar street and both sighed.

"Not too much further," muttered Torn.

"Good, now we can die together," Tryce quietly said.

Torn rolled his eyes slightly as they continued their way down the street. They stopped in front of a home they both recognized.

"They'll think to find us here eventually. They know what this place means to us," Tryce said.

"Probably, but that doesn't mean we can't come here to die in the same place as our parents did," Torn replied.

Tryce shut his mouth and nodded as they slowly made their way to the back of the house. Tryce led the way into the basement and glanced around the dust-filled room.

"I never thought that we would ever come back here again, especially after what happened with your friends," Tryce mused.

Torn didn't reply as he made his way towards the back of the room. He slammed a fist into the wall, causing the wall to slowly move. It shifted enough to reveal several hidden beds. The two hobbled inside and collapsed onto two of the beds, closing their eyes. Neither cared what happened to them next. Their job was done. The Group had been defeated, even if they knew it was only temporary.

"Torn, did you ever think it could end this way?" Tryce wondered aloud.

"No. 14 years ago, if I had known that our parents would die like they did, that we would become Krimzon Guards, that we would be dealing with this situation today, I would never allowed any of us to stay in this city," Torn barely said.

Tryce gave a small smirk, opening his eyes enough to stare at the ceiling. He wanted to move his aching body but couldn't find the strength. His stare went to his brother and thought for a split second that he was dead.

"Torn?" he said, the worry creeping into his voice.

Several long moments passed before Torn moved his head in Tryce's direction. The older brother gave a sigh of relief before a noise in the next room caught their attention.

00000

Azan put down the newspaper onto the table. He sighed as he thought about what he just read about the recent attacks by the Clan of Invisibility. His thoughts went back to Ashelin, Jak and Daxter, the ones he knew as friends of Torn.

"They are so innocent to what horrors the Clan represents. If those three only knew what the Clan is capable of doing," he muttered.

Azan glanced out the window and narrowed his eyes. He watched two figures slowly stumble down the street. It looked like the elves were in a great amount of pain from either the number of injuries they suffered or where they were injured. He couldn't tell from where he was watching.

He quickly stood up and ran for the door, hoping to catch up with them and possibly help them. He followed them down the street and watched as the two stepped behind the rebuilt house of Tharan and Allana.

"It can't be them! I have to find out if it is Torn and Tryce. They might need my help," Azan quietly said.

Azan quickly followed them. Once he reached the stairs, he paused for a moment.

'_What if they hear me coming?'_ he wondered. _'I don't think it matters. They know me and all I want to do is help.'_

He stepped down the faintly creaking stairs. Along the way, he heard the familiar voices of the two brothers. Azan gave a sharp intake of air once he reached the bottom step when he tripped and fell forward. His body came into contact with a nearby computer. It rattled and Azan knew he was caught. He saw Torn and Tryce stumble out of a back room and stare at him.

"What brings you here Azan?" Torn wanted to know.

Azan gazed over the two brothers. The injuries he saw were very serious and he wondered how either of them managed to get here on their own two feet.

"I saw you two slowly making your way here. I came to help you. By the looks of it, you really need it. Allow me to get you to a hospital," offered Azan.

He began to make his way back out of the room when someone grabbed his arm. Azan turned his head enough to see that it was Tryce who had reached for him.

"We can't go to a hospital. You have to understand that we're wanted men. They'll find us and imprison us if we go somewhere public," explained Tryce.

Azan gave a sigh, thinking about the situation and what he could do. He smiled once he thought of something he could do.

"Listen, I don't know everything that's happened but I want to help and I know how. I can't let you and your family end like this, even after this truth that I've stumbled across. Please, come with me," he pleaded.

Torn turned his head enough to watch Tryce, who shrugged his shoulders. Neither knew whether or not to accept the offer presented to them.

"Think about it for a moment and then decide," Azan told them.

The two headed back over to the beds and quietly talked between each other. Azan carefully watched the two from afar. He became worried when Torn placed a hand on his forehead and slumped forward into the waiting arms of his brother. Tryce laid him onto the bed as their friend hurried over to them.

"Torn!" he cried.

"Those bastards! They will pay for this!" snarled Tryce.

The next thing Azan knew, Tryce stood up and stepped closer to the other bed only for him to fall to his knees. Azan watched Tryce's eyes struggling to stay open before they completely closed. The family friend was shocked as he stared at the two bodies slumped over the beds. In the back of his mind, he was in total disbelief by the extent of the injuries that he could see on them.

00000

Rand groaned, placing a hand on his head. He began to sit up when two hands forced him back down.

"Don't worry. You're going to be fine. Can't say the same about those two brothers though," Anthar snickered.

Rand eyed the room, seeing that they didn't have to leave the safety of their hideout for the needed medical attention.

"Good thing your injuries weren't serious enough. Whatever that kid did, we won't allow that to happen again," Anthar said.

Rand glanced over his friend's shoulder to see Jinx quietly sitting across the room.

"Looks like we weren't dealt as much as those two but we should soon start making other plans," Rand said.

Jinx and Anthar were both slightly surprised with what their friend uttered. Jinx stood up and began to step towards his comrade.

"You can't be serious, thinkin' about plans this soon after this defeat and while you are still down!" Jinx protested.

Rand gave an evil smile as Anthar and Jinx carefully glanced between each other. They turned back to Rand, who nodded.

"So…what's the new plan?" wondered Anthar.

Rand turned his stare towards the wall, which held a picture of nine elves. Anthar and Jinx began to grin, realizing what Rand was getting at.

"We find the others and we take it from there," Anthar voiced.

"Precisely. Get prepared gentlemen, we have some searching to do," Rand told them.

The End…

So, there it is. I hope all of you enjoyed it. I know I left it in a bit of a cliffhanger but I've got a story that I hope will answer some of your questions. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I enjoyed reading all of them and I don't know what I would have done without them.


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